J.  GRATTAN  GREY 


OAK 


ST.  HDSF 


§ l^tarnmg  anb  Jabor.  ^ 

I LIBRARY  I 

U OF  THE  W 

I Universityof  Illinois. 

^ CI.ASS.  BOOK.  VOLUME. 

s S'SB  G,%t 


Accession  No. 


h. ' 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


\ 


* 


AUSTRALASIA 


OLD  AND  NEW 


BY 

J.  GRATTAN  GREY 

AUTHOR  OF  “ HIS  ISLAND  HOME,”  ETC. 


NEW  YORK 


E.  P.  DUTTON  & CO. 

LONDON : HODDER  AND  STOUGHTON 


> 


\,'y% 


Dedication 


TO 

MY  WIFE 

WHO  HAS  RENDERED  MUCH 
VALUABLE  ASSISTANCE  IN  ITS  PRODUCTION 
THIS  VOLUME  IS  AFFECTIONATELY 
INSCRIBED 


.*^-1  OQ 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2017  with  funding  from 

University  of  Illinois  Urbana-Champaign  Alternates 


https://archive.org/details/australasiaoldne00grey_0 


PREFACE 


IN  presenting  this  volume  to  the  public,  it  is  only 
necessary  to  explain  briefly  some  of  the  reasons 
which  have  called  it  forth.  In  the  first  place,  no  time 
could  be  more  opportune  than  the  present  for  the  pub- 
lication of  a book  of  this  kind.  The  first  day  of  the 
century  witnessed  the  birth  of  the  Australian  Common- 
wealth, and  by  the  time  my  book  appears  the  first 
Parliament  of  Federated  Australia  will  have  been 
opened  in  the  presence  of  the  Heir  to  the  British 
Throne  and  Her  Royal  Highness  the  Duchess  of 
Cornwall.  That  event  will  be  the  second  one  of  great 
importance  which  marks  the  new  era  in  Australian 
history ; and,  as  my  book  brings  the  reader  up  to  that 
point  from  earliest  times,  it  will,  I trust,  prove  a welcome 
and  timely  addition  to  the  stock  of  literature  which 
has  already  been  devoted  to  that  distant  part  of  the 
world. 

Having  spent  a very  large  portion  of  my  life  in 
Australasia,  and  possessing  that  intimate  knowledge 
of  its  people  and  affairs  which  long  residence  and  travel 
under  Austral  skies  give  me,  my  undertaking  a literary 
task  of  this  kind  will  not,  I hope,  be  considered  pre- 
sumptuous, more  especially  when  I tell  my  readers  that 
during  the  whole  period  of  my  prolonged  absence  from 


PREFACE 


viii 

Great  Britain  I have  been  actively  engaged  in  jour- 
nalism, and  that  from  the  very  nature  of  my  profession 
I have  had  exceptional  opportunities  of  studying  public 
men  and  events  at  the  Antipodes.  I mention  this  fact 
to  show  that  I should  at  all  events  be  qualified  for  my 
task — how  far  I have  succeeded  it  will  be  for  my.  readers 
to  decide. 

It  has  been  my  especial  care  to  endeavour  to  present 
them  with  a clear  narrative  of  Australasian  affairs,  in 
order  that  they  may  become  familiar  with  a part  of  the 
world  which  is  destined  to  attract  greater  attention  than 
has  yet  been  paid  to  it  by  the  people  of  other  countries, 
now  that  the  Australian  Continent  and  the  adjacent 
Colony  of  Tasmania  have  attained  the  status  of  a 
nation.  I wish  I could  also  add  that  New  Zealand 
was  included  in  that  great  Commonwealth. 

One  thing  which  prompted  me  to  write  this  book 
was  the  ignorance — I may  be  pardoned  for  saying 
the  illimitable  ignorance — which  prevails  in  Great 
Britain  with  regard  to  most  matters  colonial.  It  may 
be  that  hitherto  the  people  of  these  islands  have  felt  no 
interest  in  the  Australasian  Colonies,  and  therefore  have 
not  taken  the  trouble  to  master  any  details  connected 
with  them,  not  even  as  to  their  geographical  position, 
size,  distance  from  each  other,  population,  and  so  on ; 
and  there  are  many  persons  to  be  met  with  in  my 
own  experience  who  are  quite  in  a fog  as  to  whether 
Australia  is  part  of  New  Zealand  or  the  latter  a portion 
of  the  former.  It  is  a common  occurrence  to  be  asked 
about  persons  and  places  in  Australia  and  New  Zealand 
as  if  no  greater  distance  separated  them  than  St.  Paufs 
from  Westminster  Abbey,  and  the  Post-office  authori- 
ties could  supply  countless  examples  of  the  prevailing 
want  of  knowledge  on  the  part  of  some  people  who 


PREFACE 


IX 


address  their  letters  Australia,  New  Zealand,”  or  vice- 
versa.  I trust  my  book  will  have  the  effect  of  arousing 
a greater  interest  in  the  Australasian  Colonies,  and  that 
its  perusal  will  help  to  dispel  the  hazy  notions  about 
them  which  appear  to  exist  in  the  minds  of  a great 
number  of  the  general  public  on  this  side  of  the 
globe. 

Unfortunately,  too  much  of  the  literature  which  has 
been  published  about  Australasia  has  been  of  an 
ephemeral  sort.  A considerable  portion  of  it,  too,  has 
been  written  either  by  interested  politicians  or  by  those 
coming  under  the  designation  of  “globe-trotters.”  I 
belong  to  neither  class.  I have  never  been  in  politics, 
and  have  no  political  interests  to  advance  or  party  to 
subserve  or  placate  in  what  I write.  Neither  have  I 
been  a mere  bird  of  passage,  visiting  Australia,  Tas- 
mania, and  New  Zealand  for  a few  weeks,  picking  up 
scraps  of  information  from  unreliable  and  interested 
sources,  and  then  returning  to  England  or  America 
and  writing  a book  which  can  only  excite  the  ridicule 
of  those  who  have  a personal  knowledge  of  the  sub- 
jects it  pretends  to  deal  with.  It  is  like  a man  who 
has  never  been  to  Japan  spending  a couple  of  months 
in  the  British  Museum,  and  then  issuing  a work  on 
that  country,  only  for  Sir  Edwin  Arnold  and  Pierre 
Loti  to  laugh  at. 

My  readers  will  perceive  that,  with  regard  to  the 
future  of  the  Australian  Commonwealth,  I hold  views 
that  are  certain  to  be  unpopular  amongst  those  who 
indulge  in  dreams  of  Imperial  Federation  or  a con- 
federacy of  all  the  English-speaking  nations  of  the 
earth.  Neither  of  these  ideals,  in  my  humble  judgment, 
will  ever  come  to  anything ; and  just  as  certain  as  I feel 
upon  that  point,  so  also  am  I convinced  that  long  before 


X 


PREFACE 


this  century  draws  to  an  end  Australia  will  be  an  inde- 
pendent nation,  politically  and  in  all  other  respects. 
The  grounds  upon  which  I base  this  opinion  will  be 
ascertained  by  the  reader  in  due  course. 

I desire  to  acknowledge  the  courtesy  of  the  Editors 
and  Proprietors  of  The  Bookman^  The  Leisure  HouVy 
and  Sunday  at  Hoine  in  allowing  me  to  transfer  to 
this  volume  articles  which  I contributed  to  those 
periodicals  upon  subjects  which  are  dealt  with  in 
Chapters  XVII.,  XXIV.,  and  XXIX. 

J.  GRATTAN  GREY. 

London,  Apnly  1901. 


CONTENTS 


PART  I. 

AUSTRALIA  AND  VAN  DIEMEN’S  LAND  (TASMANIA). 


CHAPTER  I. 

PAGE 

General  Observations  upon  Australia  ^ . . .3 


CHAPTER  II. 

Discovery  of  Australia — Cook’s  Wonderful  Voyages — 
What  the  American  War  of  Independence  had  to 

DO  WITH  THE  COLONISATION  OF  AUSTRALIA— OfF  TO 

Botany  Bay  .......  10 


CHAPTER  HI. 

Cook’s  Impressions  of  the  Native  Race — Earlier  Navi- 
gators—What  Cook  Thought  of  Australia  as  a Land 
FOR  British  Settlement  . , . . .17 


xi 


CONTENTS 


xii 


CHAPTER  IV. 

PAGE 

The  Pioneers  of  Australian  Settlement  and  the  Native 

Race  ........  23 


CHAPTER  V. 

Just  in  Time— The  First  Ship— Docile  Natives— Van 
Diemen’s  Land— John  Mitchel,  William  Smith  O’Brien, 

John  Martin,  Terence  Bellew  MacManus,  and  other 
Political  Offenders  . . . . . .36 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Extension  of  Settlement — Buckley,  the  “ Wild  White 

Man  ” . . . . . . . .46 


CHAPTER  VH. 

What  Happened  under  the  Transportation  System  . 57 


CHAPTER  VHI. 

Further  Remarks  upon  Transportation— Gibbet  Hill — 

Discontinuance  of  Transportation  . . -64 


CHAPTER  IX. 


In  Old  Convict  Days  and  After 


8t 


CONTENTS 


xiii 


CHAPTER  X. 

PAGE 

Bushranging  . . . . . . . 92 

CHAPTER  XI. 

The  Golden  Era  . . . . . . .102 

CHAPTER  XII. 

Natural  Features  of  the  Australian  Continent  and 

Tasmania  . . . . . . .110 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

Australia’s  Capitals  and  Principal  Towns  . . .123 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

Representative  and  Responsible  Government  and  De- 
mocracy . . . . . . .147 

CHAPTER  XV. 

Australian  Society  . . . . . .156 

CHAPTER  XVI. 


Education  in  the  Australian  Colonies  and  Tasmania 


. 172 


XIV 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

PAGE 

The  Press  of  Australasia  . . . . .184 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

The  Literature  of  Australasia— Poetry  and  Prose  . 197 


CHAPTER  XIX. 


Australia  a Nation  . . . . . .211 


PART  II. 

NEW  ZEALAND. 

CHAPTER  XX. 

Size  of  New  Zealand — Discovery — First  Acquaintance 

WITH  THE  Natives — Physical  Features  . . . 227 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

In  Old  New  Zealand  Days — The  Earliest  Missionaries — 

The  “Boyd”  Massacre — Systematic  Settlement — The 
Treaty  of  Waitangi.  ....  233 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

Maori  Wars — The  Land  Qup:stion  at  the  Bottom  of 
Them — Broken  Promises — The  South  Island  Natives 
Claim  Three  Millions  Sterling  ....  246 


CONTENTS 


XV 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

The  Maoris — Their  Character  and  Disposition — Canni- 
balism AND  Tribal  Wars  . . . . . 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

The  Demoralisation  of  a Noble  Race 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

Representative  and  Responsible  Government 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

The  “ Sugar  and  Flour  ” Policy — Native  Schools — Sir 
George  Grey  and  the  Natives — Maori  Representa- 
tion IN  Parliament  ...... 


CHAPTER  XXVH. 

Sir  George  Grey  and  His  Island— Sir  Robert  Stout,  Mr. 
Ballance — Sir  Julius  Vogel  . . . . 


CHAPTER  XXVHI. 

Mr.  Ballance  as  Premier— His  Liberal  Policy— Creation 
OF  A Labour  Department — Land  for  the  People — 
State  Assistance  to  Settlers  .... 


PAGE 

257 


268 


277 


284 


295 


XVI 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

PAGE 

Secular  Education  in  New  Zealand  ....  317 

CHAPTER  XXX. 

New  Zealand  Parliaments  Past  and  Present— “ Spoils  to 

THE  Victors” — A Reign  of  Terror  . . . 329 

CHAPTER  XXXI. 

More  Remarks  upon  Parliamentary  Decadence  in  New 


Zealand  . 

339 

Old-Age  Pensions  . 

CHAPTER  XXXII. 

351 

CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

Womanhood  Suffrage  ......  356 

CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

Industrial  Conciliation  and  Arbitration  — Cost  of 

Government — Payment  of  Members  . . . 364 

CHAPTER  XXXV. 

The  Loss  of  Samoa— Natives  Satisfied  with  German 

Annexation  .......  37^ 


Appendices— Statistical  Information 


3S9 

a.  " 


PART  I 

AUSTRALIA  AND  VAN  DIEMEN’S  LAND 
(TASMANIA) 


Z 


\ 


CHAPTER  I 


GENERAL  OBSERVATIONS  UPON  AUSTRALIA 

IT  is  not,  in  the  strict  sense  of  the  term,  a history  of 
the  Australian  Continent,  and  of  the  two  large  and 
important  colonies  adjacent  to  it,  that  the  author  intends 
to  present  to  the  public  on  this  occasion.  To  give  any- 
thing like  a detailed  account  of  the  rise  and  progress  of 
those  distant  lands  would  require  one,  in  addition  to  any 
large  store  of  information  he  may  himself  possess  on  the 
subject,  to  devote  months  of  research  amongst  whole 
files  of  almost  forgotten  literature  on  the  shelves  of  the 
British  Museum,  and  the  result  would  be  rather  to 
confuse  than  to  help  a writer  in  the  satisfactory  accom- 
plishment of  an  object  alike  comprehensive  and 
ambitious. 

The  purpose  which  the  author  has  in  view  is  not  so 
much  to  give  a consecutive  narrative  of  events  which 
have  been  already  placed  on  record,  as  to  present  his 
readers  with  a true  insight  into  the  condition  of  things 
as  they  now  exist  in  what  is  destined  to  become  the 
Greater  Britain  of  the  South.  A continuous  residence 
of  nearly  forty  years  in  Australasia  should  enable  him 
to  perform  such  a task  as  this  with  satisfaction  to  the 
public  and  to  himself. 

At  the  same  time,  it  will  be  necessary  to  devote  a 
considerable  amount  of  space  and  attention  to  the  main 


4 


AUvSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


features  connected  with  the  early  days  of  colonisation, 
in  order  that  the  reader  may  acquire  a fair  grasp  of  the 
whole  subject  without  being  wearied  by  superfluous 
details  of  no  actual  interest  or  importance  to  any  one. 

Following  out  this  plan  in  strict  accordance  with  its 
simplicity  of  conception,  the  author  will  not  trouble  his 
readers  with  any  dull  recital  of  geographical  situations 
which  can  be  obtained  by  a moment's  reference  to  any 
of  the  authenticated  maps  now  everywhere  accessible  to 
those  who  desire  to  inform  themselves  upon  that  branch 
of  the  subject ; but  in  order  to  show  the  vastness  of 
Great  Britain's  possessions  in  that  portion  of  the 
Southern  Pacific,  an  epitome  of  the  area  comprised 
within  each  colony  of  the  Australasian  group  will  be 
found  both  interesting  and  instructive.  The  Australian 
Commonwealth,  which  the  new  century  has  brought  into 
political  existence,  embraces  the  whole  of  the  Great 
Island  Continent  and  Tasmania.  Before  the  Imperial 
Act  of  last  year  created  it  a nation,  Australia  was 
divided  into  five  separate  colonies,  the  areas  of  which 
are  as  follow  : — 

New  South  Wales  (the  original  colony  of  them  all) 
contains  323,437  square  miles,  or  206,999,680  acres. 

Queensland,  678,600  square  miles,  or  434,304,000  acres. 

South  Australia,  914,730  square  miles,  or  585,427,200 
acres. 

Victoria,  88,198  square  miles,  or  56,446,720  acres. 

Western  Australia, 978,298  square  miles,  or  626,1 1 1,323 
acres. 

The  island  of  Tasmania  (also  included  in  the 
Commonwealth),  26,215  square  miles,  or  16,778,000 
acres. 

New  Zealand  (which  at  present  stands  out  of  the 
Commonwealth)  has  a total  area  of  103,658  square 
miles,  or  66,340,910  acres. 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  the  Australian  Continent 


GENERAL  OBSERVATIONS  UPON  AUSTRALIA  5 

contains  2,983,253  square  miles,  and  Tasmania  26,215 
square  miles,  and  that  these  figures  added  together  give 
a total  square  mileage  of  3,009,468.  But  the  enormous 
dimensions  of  the  Australian  Continent  (leaving 
Tasmania  out  of  the  calculation,  because  it  is  an  island 
nearly  200  miles  away  from  it)  can  be  more  readily 
grasped  when  it  is  stated  that  if  the  areas  of  Austria- 
Hungary,  Germany,  France,  Belgium,  Holland,  Denmark, 
Sweden  and  Norway,  Portugal,  Spain,  Italy  (including 
Sardinia  and  Sicily),  Switzerland,  Greece,  Roumania, 
Bulgaria,  Servia,  Eastern  Roumelia  and  Turkey  in 
Europe,  were  grouped  together,  they  would  contain  little 
more  than  half  of  the  territory  which  now  comes  under 
the  administration  of  the  Australian  Commonwealth. 

The  total  area  in  square  miles  of  England  and  Wales, 
Scotland  and  Ireland,  is  121,305,  only  about  one-seventh 
more  than  the  colony  of  New  Zealand  ; and  when  a 
comparison  is  made  between  the  United  Kingdom  and 
the  Australian  Continent,  some  idea  can  be  formed  of 
the  countless  millions  of  people  who  will  some  day  be 
found  to  live  under  Austral  skies.  What,  therefore,  can 
be  more  obvious  to  the  most  ordinary  mind  than  that  in 
the  natural  evolution  of  events  Australia  is  destined  to 
become  one  of  the  greatest  and  most  progressive  nations 
of  the  earth?  It  has  already  made  a good  beginning  under 
the  beneficent  influences  of  self-government,  and  who 
can  say  that  the  time  will  not  come  when  she  will  find 
herself  of  a growth  sufficiently  robust  to  take  care  of 
herself  and  shape  her  own  destiny  ? Federation  is  but 
the  stepping-stone  towards  the  ultimate  realisation  of 
that  ideal,  and  it  is  just  as  well  to  recognise  what  must 
inevitably  happen  in  the  future  when  this  new  nation  in 
southern  seas  attains  a maturer  stage  of  development 
and  feels  that  she  can  walk  alone.  When  that  epoch  in 
her  career  is  reached,  it  is  idle  to  suppose  that  any 
obstacles  will  be  interposed  against  the  accomplish- 


6 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


ment  of  her  legitimate  aspirations.  But  the  work  of 
nation-building  has  just  begun  ; many  decades  must 
pass  before  Australia  is  in  a position  of  self-reliance  ; 
her  present  population,  scarcely  numbering  five  million 
souls,  must  increase  to  twenty  or  thirty  millions  of  people  ; 
and  enormous  sums  of  money  must  be  expended  in  perfect- 
ing a scheme  of  internal  and  external  defence.  But  all 
these  things  will  assuredly  come  to  pass  in  the  fulness  of 
time ; her  geographical  position  and  conditions  differing 
so  greatly  from  those  of  the  northern  hemisphere  will  be 
special  arguments  to  support  her  claims  for  complete 
control  of  her  own  affairs,  external  as  well  as  internal, 
and  no  statesman  will  be  found  to  resist  those  claims 
whenever  they  are  advanced,  as  they  certainly  will  be, 
years  perhaps  before  the  present  century  draws  to  a close. 
In  saying  this  I am  well  aware  that  my  prophecy  will  be 
challenged  by  those  who  indulge  in  dreams  about 
Imperial  federation  and  a confederacy  of  all  the 
English-speaking  nations  of  the  earth ; but  a close 
examination  of  the  whole  subject  will  convince  even 
the  most  sceptical,  that  the  tendency  of  peoples  lies  in 
the  direction  of  national  independence.  To  govern 
themselves  in  their  own  way,  according  to  their  own 
conceptions  of  what  is  best  suited  for  the  requirements 
of  the  countries  they  live  in,  is  the  idea  which  is  fast 
taking  possession  of  people’s  minds  all  the  world  over  ; 
and  it  is  a well-known  fact  that  in  the  Australia  of 
to-day  there  are  thousands  of  men  and  women  who  are 
strongly  impressed  with  the  belief  that  events  will  so 
shape  themselves  in  that  part  of  the  world  as  to  result 
in  complete  independence  eventually.  Indeed,  what  Sir 
Wilfred  Laurier  so  recently  said  about  Canada  may  be 
applied  to  Australia  : the  present  arrangements  work 
very  well  and  suit  existing  circumstances,  but  it  would 
be  going  too  far  to  say  that  they  will  last  for  ever.  Sir 
Wilfred  has  only  shown  more  candour  than  any  of  the 


GENERAL  OBSERVATIONS  UPON  AUSTRALIA  7 


statesmen  of  Australia  on  the  subject,  but  the  feeling  is 
there  nevertheless  ; it  is  simply  more  diplomatic  not  to 
give  expression  to  it  until  perhaps  a more  fitting  oppor- 
tunity. Besides,  it  might  appear  somewhat  ungrateful 
to  intimate,  at  the  very  birth-time  of  the  Commonwealth, 
that  something  more  will  be  demanded  later  on  ; but  the 
strong  stand  made  by  Mr.  Barton  and  Mr.  Deakin  against 
Mr.  Chamberlain  during  the  passage  of  the  Federation  Bill, 
and  the  way  in  which  these  gentlemen  were  backed  up  by 
the  consensus  of  Australian  public  opinion,  are  straws 
which  indicate  clearly  enough  the  trend  of  popular  feeling 
and  sentiment  on  a question  which  Sir  Wilfred  Laurier  has 
touched  upon  so  significantly  so  far  as  it  relates  to  the 
Canadian  Dominion.  When  the  Australian  Common- 
wealth has  grown  a little  older,  and  its  accumulating 
strength  has  given  it  greater  confidence,  probably  its 
statesmen  will  be  no  less  candid  and  courageous  than 
the  Premier  of  Canada,  and  will  state  with  equal 
definiteness  what  their  ultimate  aims  are  as  the  natural 
and  irresistible  sequence  of  Federation. 

In  considering  the  future  destiny  of  Australasia,  it 
would  be  a mistake  to  suppose  that  because  of  the 
enthusiasm  which  has  been  manifested  there  during  the 
past  sixteen  months,  it  may  therefore  be  assumed  that 
the  federating  States  will  for  all  time  be  content  with 
what  they  have  already  secured  in  the  way  of  self- 
government.  There  is  a proneness  on  the  part  of  too 
many  people  to  attribute  to  that  enthusiasm  an  import- 
ance and  significance  which  do  not  really  belong  to  it, 
for  the  reason  that  it  has  been  more  in  the  nature  of  a 
sentimental  expression  of  feeling  which  sudden  and 
extraordinary  developments  aroused  in  that  part  of  the 
world.  It  therefore  possesses  no  real  or  durable  signifi- 
cance as  to  the  future  course  of  action  in  Australia  with 
reference  to  its  own  affairs.  No  one  acquainted  with 
Australia,  or  with  the  strong  and  swelling  current  of 


8 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


popular  opinion  which  exists  there  on  the  subject,  can 
shut  his  eyes  to  what  the  ultimate  result  of  that  opinion 
will  be,  and  there  is  nothing  to  be  gained  by  any 
attempted  concealment  of  what  Australia  desires  to 
achieve  as  the  crowning  point  of  her  national  aspirations 
and  hopes.  At  the  same  time,  it  is  premature  to  talk  of 
“ cutting  the  painter.”  Australia  is  not  in  a position  to 
cut  it  even  if  she  wished  to  do  so,  in  her  present  circum- 
stances. It  suits  her  to  maintain  the  connection,  and 
there  will  be  no  thought  of  cutting  the  painter  until  she 
is  fully  prepared  to  take  care  of  herself ; but  the  time 
will  assuredly  come  when  she  will  be  in  that  position. 
Whether  the  period  be  long  or  short  depends  altogether 
upon  two  essential  features  in  her  progress  and  sense  of 
self-reliance : population  and  defence.  In  neither  one 
respect  nor  in  the  other  is  she  prepared  to  stand  alone  at 
this  moment,  and  before  she  can  do  that  she  will  require 
a vastly  larger  population  and  such  means  of  internal 
and  external  defence  as  will  enable  her  to  meet  any 
possible  contingency  that  may  arise  from  an  international 
point  of  view.  At  present  she  is  without  a fleet  of  her 
own  ; the  few  boats  she  has  would  be  of  little  avail  in 
protecting  her  from  attack  by  a fleet  of  the  most  modest 
dimensions  sent  out  there  specially  for  that  purpose  by 
any  foreign  nation,  and  her  extensive  coast  lines  could 
be  assailed  with  impunity,  except  at  Port  Phillip,  Port 
Jackson,  and  a few  other  places  where  defence  works 
have  been  carried  out.  Therefore  Australia  has  much  to 
do  before  she  can  dispense  with  the  protection  of  Great 
Britain,  and  it  would  be  madness  to  dream  of  doing  that 
under  existing  circumstances.  The  danger  of  doing  it 
is  too  evident  for  Australia  to  ignore  her  dependence 
upon  the  Mother  Land.  That  she  recognises  the  neces- 
sity of  maintaining  the  connection  is  clear  from  the 
anxiety  she  displays  with  regard  to  the  encroachment  of 
foreign  powers  in  the  Pacific.  On  one  hand,  she  regards 


GENERAL  OBSERVATIONS  UPON  AUSTRALIA  9 

with  apprehension  the  possibility  of  France  getting 
possession  of  the  New  Hebrides  ; and  on  the  other  she 
sees  Germany  permanently  installed  in  New  Guinea  and 
Samoa.  Left  to  herself  just  now,  these  two  powers 
would  be  a constant  source  of  uneasiness  to  Australia, 
and  that  danger  would  be  intensified  if  she  had  not  the 
protection  and  assistance  of  Great  Britain  to  rely  on. 
Complete  national  independence  will  not  be  sought  for, 
therefore,  until  Australia  feels  absolutely  sure  of  her 
position  from  being  able  to  defend  herself  against 
foreign  attack,  and  when  that  stage  of  her  development 
is  reached  the  leave-taking  between  Great  Britain  and 
Australia  will  be  one  of  mutual  friendliness  and  best 
wishes  on  the  part  of  the  old  nation  and  the  new. 


CHAPTER  II 

DISCOVERY  OF  AUSTRALIA — COOK’S  WONDERFUL 
VOYAGES — WHAT  THE  AMERICAN  WAR  OF  INDE- 
PENDENCE HAD  TO  DO  WITH  THE  COLONISATION 
OF  AUSTRALIA — OFF  TO  BOTANY  BAY 

Long  before  the  advent  of  Captain  Cook,  Tasman 
and  other  great  navigators  had  penetrated  so  far 
into  southern  latitudes  as  to  reveal  to  the  world  the 
existence  of  Terra  Australis  and  the  islands  now  known 
as  Tasmania  and  New  Zealand.  To  the  former  the 
name  of  New  Holland  was  subsequently  given,  and 
from  the  time  of  Tasman’s  visit  until  the  year  1854, 
Van  Diemen’s  Land  was  the  title  under  which 
Tasmania  was  popularly  known,  and  claimed  its 
rather  unenviable  notoriety  under  the  convict  system 
which  prevailed  there  during  a considerable  portion  of 
the  nineteenth  century.  The  sea  which  separates  New 
Zealand  from  the  Australian  Continent,  in  width  a little 
over  1,200  miles,  still  bears  the  name  of  the  celebrated 
Dutch  navigator,  and  there  are  places  in  New  Zealand 
where  the  original  nomenclature  has  never  been  departed 
from.  Thus  we  find  Tasman’s  Head  and  Cape  Maria 
Van  Diemen  still  applied  to  prominent  headlands  on  its 
coasts.  These  particulars  are  mentioned  for  the  purpose 
of  showing  that  Cook  was  not  the  discoverer  of  these 
distant  parts  of  the  earth,  although  it  must  be  admitted 

10 


DISCOVERY  OF  AUSTRALIA 


II 


that  nothing  was  done  to  bring  them  into  prominence 
until  the  publication  of  “ Cook’s  Voyages  ” aroused  a 
degree  of  interest  about  them  which  ultimately  resulted 
• in  their  acquisition  for  purposes  of  British  settlement 
and  expansion.  Cook  was  undoubtedly  the  most  won- 
derful and  heroic  navigator  of  the  age  in  which  he  lived. 
Any  one  now  sailing  along  the  coasts  of  Australia, 
Tasmania,  and  New  Zealand  cannot  but  be  struck 
with  the  marvellous  courage  and  intrepidity  which 
must  have  marked  the  progress  of  this  great  man  in 
southern  seas.  The  dangers  to  which  he  was  constantly 
exposed  were  indeed  prodigious.  Buffeted  about  in  a 
sailing  craft,  which  can  be  designated  little  more  than  a 
cockle-shell  alongside  the  monster  productions  of  marine 
architecture  of  our  own  time,  without  a chart  of  even 
the  roughest  outline  to  guide  him  from  one  point  to 
another,  it  is  incomprehensible  how  he  averted  destruc- 
tion upon  the  wild  and  barren  coasts  round  which  he 
was  the  first  to  sail  ; and  viewed  from  this  distance  of 
time,  it  is  astounding  to  note  the  absolute  correctness  of 
his  original  survey.  All  the  headlands  and  coastal  inden- 
tations, as  well  as  depths,  distances,  magnetic  bearings 
and  currents,  have  been  set  forth  in  his  Voyages  ” 
with  a detailed  accuracy  which  has  withstood  the  test 
of  subsequent  research,  and  the  stupendous  nature  of  his 
task,  and  the  manner  of  its  successful  accomplishment, 
must  for  all  time  impress  the  world  with  his  exceptional 
genius  and  indomitable  perseverance  and  courage.  Cook 
was  in  every  sense  a true  benefactor  of  mankind.  He 
opened  up  a new  world  to  relieve  the  congested  con- 
ditions of  the  old  one,  just  as  the  discoveries  of  Chris- 
topher Columbus  and  other  navigators  in  earlier  times 
provided  the  vast  territories  of  America  as  outlets  for 
the  over-populated  nations  of  Europe.  When  one  thinks 
of  the  results  that  have  flown  from  the  colonisation 
of  America  and  Canada,  and  the  millions  of  people  who 


12 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


are  now  settled  in  these  countries,  one  naturally  wonders 
what  the  consequences  would  have  been  if  these  lands 
had  not  been  available — if  they  had  remained  in  the 
primitive  condition  in  which  they  presented  themselves 
to  the  early  pioneers  of  Virginia,  or  the  later  adventurous 
colonisers  of  the  New  England  States,  whose  descen- 
dants constitute  a large  proportion  of  the  seventy-six 
millions  of  souls  who  are  included  in  the  population  of 
the  United  States.  Even  taking  those  who  are  of 
Anglo-Saxon  origin,  what  room  would  there  have  been 
for  them  within  the  circumscribed  limits  of  the  British 
Isles  ? In  the  words  of  the  American  satirist,  they 
would  have  been  too  numerous  to  maintain  even  a 
foothold  upon  the  soil  and  would  have  squeezed  each 
other  into  the  surrounding  waters  through  overcrowding. 
What  the  United  States  and  Canada  have  done  in  the 
past  to  relieve  that  pressure,  the  Australian  colonies 
have  been  doing  in  a lesser  degree  since  1788.  In  the 
latter  case  distance  has  always  stood  in  the  way  of  a 
more  rapid  development,  and  even  the  attractions  of 
their  goldfields  have  not  been  instrumental  in  augment- 
ing their  population  in  the  ratio  that  might  have  been 
expected.  But  the  establishment  of  the  Commonwealth 
is  the  dawn  of  a new  era  of  progression,  and  when  it 
becomes  more  generally  known  that  Australia,  Tasmania, 
and  New  Zealand  offer  inducements  for  settlement 
superior  to  those  in  any  part  of  the  world,  a tide  of 
emigration  will  set  in  which  will  increase  the  number  of 
their  inhabitants  to  tens  of  millions  before  the  second 
century  of  their  settlement  draws  to  a close. 

It  is  not  generally  understood  that  the  War  of  Inde- 
pendence in  America,  and  the  loss  of  the  British  colonies 
there,  had  much  to  do  with  the  colonisation  of  Australia. 
It  was,  in  point  of  fact,  a direct  factor  in  the  origination 
and  execution  of  the  plan  of  Australian  settlement. 
The  settlement  of  Virginia  had  an  exactly  similar  com- 


DISCOVERY  OF  AUSTRALIA 


13 


mencement,  under  the  auspices  of  Lord  Delaware.  For 
a considerable  period  after  taking  possession  of  Virginia, 
it  was  the  custom  of  Great  Britain  to  send  great  numbers 
of  her  criminal  classes  across  the  Atlantic,  and  the 
practice  existed  for  a century  and  a half  before  the  War 
of  Independence  broke  out.  Most  of  these  convicts, 
men  and  women,  were  sold  to  the  Virginian  planters, 
some  of  them  for  a term  of  years,  others  for  life.  The 
average  price  per  head  was  £20,  and  for  a long  time 
England  derived  a considerable  amount  of  revenue  from 
this  source,  sometimes  as  much  as  ;6’40,ooo  a year. 
Many  of  these  convicts,  after  completion  of  their  servi- 
tude or  liberation  upon  ticket-of-leave,  rose  to  positions 
of  wealth  and  influence  in  Virginia,  and  their  descendants 
are  now  to  be  found  amongst  some  of  the first  families,'^ 
as  they  are  ironically  termed,  in  that  highly  aristocratic 
State  of  the  Great  Republic. 

When  the  War  of  Independence  deprived  England  of 
her  colonies  in  America,  the  despatch  of  convicts  to  Vir- 
ginia came  to  an  end,  of  course,  and  the  Government  had 
to  cast  its  eyes  elsewhere  for  a dumping  ground  to  which 
its  criminal  classes  might  be  consigned,  under  the  belief 
that  the  transportation  system  could  not  be  dispensed 
with.  Such  an  idea  was  exploded  little  more  than  half 
a century  later,  when  the  free  people  of  Australia  deter- 
mined that  they  would  tolerate  no  more  convict  ships 
coming  to  their  shores ; but  transportation  was  the 
prevailing  idea  after  the  close  of  the  American  war,  and 
Australia  was  decided  upon  when  the  American  ports 
were  closed  against  further  consignments  of  law-breakers 
from  Great  Britain.  The  accounts  furnished  by  Captain 
Cook  about  the  Australian  climate,  the  natural  resources 
of  that  part  of  the  world,  and  the  apparent  docility  of  its 
aboriginal  inhabitants,  were  perused  with  increasing 
interest,  and  it  was  considered  by  the  authorities  that 
no  better  place  than  Australia  could  be  selected  for  the 


14 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


continuance  of  the  transportation  system.  The  graphic 
descriptions  of  Botany  Bay  given  by  Cook,  and  the 
favourable  account  of  his  reception  by  the  natives  in 
that  locality,  induced  the  Government  to  try  the  experi- 
ment in  that  quarter.  “ Botany  Bay  became  ever 
afterwards  associated  with  convict  life  at  the  Antipodes, 
and  the  words  bore  such  a significance  in  those  days 
and  for  many  years  afterwards,  that  to  hear  of  a person 
being  sent  to  Botany  Bay  meant  nothing  less  than  life- 
long suffering  and  expatriation.  As  a matter  of  fact, 
however,  Botany  Bay  never  became  a convict  establish- 
ment. It  is  true  that  Captain  Arthur  Phillip,  the  first 
Australian  Governor,  was  entrusted  with  the  task  of 
founding  a settlement  there ; but  upon  arrival  he  found 
the  place  undesirable  for  the  purpose,  and  after  an 
examination  of  the  Bay  to  the  northward,  he  took  formal 
possession  of  the  country  by  hoisting  the  British  colours 
on  a flagstaff  erected  on  the  site  now  occupied  by  Dawes' 
Battery.  This  was  Port  Jackson,  the  lovely  harbour 
upon  whose  shores  Sydney  now  stands  ; and  here  it 
was  that  the  first  British  settlement  in  Australia  was 
founded. 

In  1787,  the  fleet  which  was  to  accompany  Governor 
Phillip  assembled  at  the  Isle  of  Wight.  It  consisted  of 
eleven  sailing  vessels  of  various  tonnage.  The  precise 
number  of  persons  who  embarked  on  this  pioneer  fleet 
was  1,044,  made  up  as  follows  : 10  civil  officers,  212 
military  (including  officers),  28  women  and  17  children 
(the  wives  and  families  of  the  military),  81  other  free 
persons ; or  a total  of  348  persons  who  were  free  men, 
women  and  children,  and  696  convicts.  Of  the  total 
number  1,030  were  safely  landed  in  the  colony.  The 
women  numbered  altogether  220,  28  of  whom  were 
wives  of  the  military,  and  the  remaining  192  were 
women  who  had  been  sentenced  to  transportation  for 
various  offences.  The  prisoners,  male  and  female,  were 


DISCOVERY  OF  AUSTRALIA 


IS 


mostly  young  persons  from  the  agricultural  districts  of 
England,  nine-tenths  of  them  being  natives  of  the  south- 
western and  midland  counties,  and  the  chronicler  of  the 
time  relates  that  very  few  of  them  had  been  convicted 
of  serious  crimes. 

It  was  on  the  13th  of  May,  1787,  that  the  fleet  sailed 
from  England,  and  on  the  i8th  of  January,  1788,  the 
Supply^  with  Governor  Phillip  on  board,  was  the  first  to 
drop  anchor  in  Botany  Bay.  The  other  vessels  arrived 
on  the  19th  and  20th  ; and  on  the  26th  of  the  month 
the  whole  fleet  was  riding  at  anchor  in  that  portion  of 
Port  Jackson  known  as  Sydney  Cove.  Neither  at 
Botany  Bay  nor  at  Port  Jackson  did  Governor  Phillip 
encounter  any  opposition  from  the  natives.  Perfectly 
devoid  of  clothing,  these  wild  inhabitants  of  Australia 
came  down  to  the  beach  in  considerable  numbers,  and 
gazed  with  wonderment  and  curiosity  upon  the  new- 
comers, that  being  in  all  probability  the  first  occasion 
on  which  they  had  seen  a race  so  dissimilar  to  them- 
selves since  Cook  and  his  seamen  made  acquaintance 
with  some  natives  many  years  previously,  and  it  is 
quite  likely  there  was  not  one  amongst  them  old  enough 
to  remember  the  event.  The  nomadic  habits  of  the 
Australian  black  render  it  quite  probable  that  the 
natives  first  seen  by  Governor  Phillip  belonged  to  a 
different  tribe  and  were  far  away  in  the  interior  at  the 
time  Captain  Cook  landed  on  that  historic  spot  in 
Botany  Bay.  Those  met  with  by  Governor  Phillip 
evinced  no  spirit  of  hostility.  On  the  contrary,  they 
laid  down  their  spears  and  other  weapons  as  he 
approached  them,  and  gleefully  accepted  presents  of 
beads,  pieces  of  red  baize  and  other  articles  which  were 
tendered  as  tokens  of  his  desire  to  establish  friendly 
intercourse  between  the  two  races. 

It  was  under  these  encouraging  auspices  that  the 
first  attempt  at  British  colonisation  was  made  in 


i6  AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 

Australia.  We  shall  see  presently  how  the  project 
succeeded,  how  settlement  extended  to  other  portions 
of  the  Continent  under  a mixed  free  and  convict 
system,  and  how  rapidly  the  supremacy  of  the  white 
man  asserted  itself  at  a period  when,  through  vastly 
inferior  numbers,  he  was  practically  at  the  mercy  of 
those  whose  possessions  he  had  come  to  take  as  the 
pioneer  of  civilisation  in  that  remote  quarter  of  the 
globe.  The  conquest  was  an  easy  and  bloodless  one, 
and  it  is  upon  that  account  that  the  subsequent  ruth- 
less decimation  of  the  aboriginal  inhabitants  is  all  the 
more  to  be  deplored  and  condemned. 


CHAPTER  III 


cook's  impressions  of  the  native  race — EARLIER 

NAVIGATORS — WHAT  COOK  THOUGHT  OF  AUSTRA- 
LIA AS  A LAND  FOR  BRITISH  SETTLEMENT 

HE  last  of  the  continents  to  be  discovered, 


Australia  has  likewise  been  the  last  to  be 


colonised  ; and  although  that  vast  territory  is  barren 
of  any  historical  associations  before  the  advent  of  the 
white  man,  that  blank  is  more  than  compensated  for  by 
the  stirring  events  that  have  happened  there  since 
the  arrival  of  Governor  Phillip  and  his  mixed  band 
of  free  and  convict  men  and  women,  more  than  one 
hundred  and  twelve  years  ago,  and  the  student  of 
colonial  history  will  find  ample  material  both  for  his 
amusement  and  instruction  in  the  fragmentary  records 
of  the  earlier  periods  of  settlement. 

More  than  a century  had  elapsed  after  the  discovery 
of  America  when  De  Quiros  and  Torres,  and  some 
Dutch  navigators,  after  skirting  the  New  Hebrides,  set 
foot  on  Australian  soil.  Torres  gave  it  the  name  of 
Terra  Australis,  but  beyond  naming  it,  that  great 
navigator  apparently  made  himself  very  little  acquainted 
with  the  country  itself,  for  he  left  no  records  either  as  to 
its  extent,  its  natural  features,  or  the  characteristics  of 
its  inhabitants.  It  is  just  as  likely  as  not  that  he 
merely  landed  for  the  sake  of  saying  he  had  been  there. 


3 


i8  AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 

and  that  he  encountered  none  of  the  aborigines  during 
his  short  stay  on  shore,  the  probability  being  that  they 
retired  to  the  dense  forests  upon  his  approach,  and  did 
not  again  venture  to  the  seaboard  until  they  felt  assured 
of  his  departure.  After  De  Quiros  and  Torres,  more 
extensive  examinations  of  the  coasts  were  made  by 
Dampier,  Tasman,  Pelsart,  Carpenter  and  others ; but  it 
was  one  hundred  and  thirteen  years  after  Torres'  time 
that  Captain  Cook  took  possession  of  Australia  (so 
named  by  Flinders)  for  the  British  Crown. 

When  Cook  first  landed  at  Botany  Bay,  he  found  the 
place  inhabited  by  a strangely  wild  and  unintellectual 
race.  Men  and  women  alike  were  in  a state  of  absolute^ 
nudity.  Exceedingly  timid  in  demeanour,  their  first 
impulse  was  to  rush  into  the  woods,  but  he  allayed  their 
fears  and  eventually  induced  them  by  signs  of  friendship 
to  return  to  the  beach  and  to  mingle  with  the  new- 
comers without  displaying  any  further  symptoms  of 
alarm.  A mutual  confidence  was  soon  established 
between  the  aborigines  and  the  crew  of  Cook's  vessel. 
For  a time  they  gazed  with  curiosity  at  each  other,  and 
the  natives  were  peculiarly  interested  in  all  the  strange 
objects  which  were  brought  under  their  notice.  Beads, 
knives,  rings,  pieces  of  cloth,  and  other  articles  were 
liberally  bestowed  upon  these  wild  creatures  of  the 
woods,  and  during  the  whole  of  Cook's  sojourn  at 
Botany  Bay  nothing  occurred  to  upset  the  friendly 
relations  which  had  been  established  between  the  two 
races.  Cook  subsequently  described  these  natives  as 
fine  physical  types  of  humanity,  but  it  is  hard  to  recon- 
cile that  description  with  the  remnant  of  the  native 
population  to  be  found  in  the  Australia  of  to-day.  One 
thing  is  obvious — either  that  Cook  must  have  grossly 
exaggerated  their  physical  characteristic.s,  or  that  since 
his  time  an  extraordinary  degeneracy  of  the  aboriginal 
race  of  Australia  has  ensued  ; for  they  are  now  a weak 


COOK’S  IMPRESSIONS  OF  THE  NATIVE  RACE  19 


and  small-limbed  people,  especially  the  females,  and  more 
than  a century’s  intercourse  with  white  men  has  failed 
to  improve  or  civilise  them,  or  to  produce  the  smallest 
degree  of  intellectual  development.  It  may  be  that 
they  are  incapable  of  improvement,  or  that  the  right 
methods  have  not  been  employed  to  elevate  the  race  ; 
the  fact  remains  that  the  aborigines  of  Australia  have 
made  no  appreciable  approach  to  civilisation  since 
the  time  Cook  first  set  his  foot  on  the  shores  of 
Botany  Bay. 

What  appears  to  have  made  the  most  impression 
upon  Captain  Cook  was  their  docility.  They  were  so 
unlike  the  ferocious  savages  he  had  seen  on  some  of  the 
islands  in  the  Pacific  Ocean,  that  he  had  no  reason  to 
suppose  hostilities  would  be  resorted  to  in  the  event 
of  Great  Britain  attempting  the  colonisation  of  the 
Australian  continent.  He  naturally  enough  concluded 
that  the  same  friendly  reception  would  be  given  to  any 
body  of  colonising  pioneers  as  had  been  accorded  to 
himself,  and  what  he  saw  in  Australia  must  have  con- 
vinced him  that  no  better  field  could  be  selected  for  the 
purpose  of  colonial  extension.  He  had  experienced  the 
attractiveness  of  its  climate,  and  had  witnessed  the  luxu- 
riance of  its  vegetation  and  the  richness  and  fertility 
of  its  soil.  Although  more  a sailor  than  a politician,  he 
must  have  reflected,  even  in  those  days,  upon  the  con- 
gested population  of  his  native  land,  and  compared  the 
contracted  area  of  England  with  the  apparently 
illimitable  region  of  virgin  wastes  which  he  had  taken 
possession  of  in  the  name  of  the  King  under  whom  he 
served.  True,  it  was  but  the  fringe  of  the  Continent 
he  had  touched,  but  he  had  seen  enough  to  convince 
him  of  the  enormous  resources  in  the  interior  which  only 
awaited  development ; and  that  he  had  a clear  notion 
that  some  day  Australia  would  become  a colony  of  Great 
Britain  is  evident  from  the  encouraging  strain  in  which 


20 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


his  impressions  of  it  are  recorded.  They  all  seem  to 
point  to  such  an  eventuality.  He  was  familiar  with  the 
conditions  under  which  Virginia  had  been  settled,  and 
with  the  heroic  and  successful  settlement  of  the  New 
England  States  by  the  Pilgrim  Fathers  of  the  Mayflower 
and  their  descendants.  He  knew  what  a blessing  those 
colonies  had  proved  to  the  thousands  of  his  countrymen 
who  had  abandoned  the  old  world  for  the  new,  and  the 
avenues  which  those  colonies  opened  up  to  a population 
at  home  whose  growth  was  out  of  all  proportion  to  the 
means  of  existence  in  their  native  land.  It  never, 
perhaps,  entered  his  mind  that  the  time  was  so  near 
at  hand  when  those  colonies  would  be  lost  to  Great 
Britain,  and  that  America  would  become  the  hospitable 
refuge  of  the  poor  and  oppressed  of  all  nations  of 
the  earth. 

But  if  Captain  Cook  had  not  the  prescience  to 
observe  the  dawning  of  the  American  Revolution,  it 
is  abundantly  evident  that  from  his  earliest  acquaint- 
ance with  it  he  regarded  Australia  as  a most  suitable 
field  for  colonising  enterprise,  and  it  was  no  fault  of  his 
if  so  little  attention  was  paid  to  his  recommendations 
until  the  loss  of  the  American  Colonies  turned  the  eyes 
of  British  Statesmen  in  that  direction.  And  then,  too, 
as  we  have  already  seen,  that  enterprise  was  to  be 
accompanied  by  the  undesirable  adjunct  of  convict 
contamination  and  the  disorders  inseparable  from  such 
an  objectionable  system  of  colonisation. 

From  the  perusal  of  the  foregoing  items  of  history  it 
will  be  seen  that  the  possession  of  Australia  as  a portion 
of  the  British  dominions  is  due  to  Captain  Cook  ; but 
the  uninformed  reader  must  not  suppose  that  he  dis- 
covered that  great  island  Continent.  As  a matter  of 
fact,  it  was  discovered  in  1609  by  Don  Pedro  Fernando 
de  Quiros,  a Spanish  nobleman,  who  named  it  Australia 
of  the  Holy  Spirit ; but  it  afterwards  received  the  name 


COOK’S  IMPRESSIONS  OF  THE  NATIVE  RACE  21 

of  New  Holland  from  a number  of  Dutch  navigators, 
by  whom  its  southern  and  western  coasts  were  explored 
at  different  times.  Indeed,  that  portion  of  the  Con- 
tinent which  is  now  known  as  Western  Australia  is 
supposed  to  have  been  discovered  in  the  sixteenth 
century ; but  there  is  no  distinct  record  either  of  the 
fact  or  of  the  name  of  the  discoverer,  and  the  name  of 
Fernando  de  Quiros  is  the  first  that  can  be  authentically 
associated  with  it  in  the  ninth  year  of  the  seventeenth 
century.  After  de  Quiros  comes  Hartog,  who  discovered 
the  south-western  district  in  1616.  Although  the  dis- 
covery of  Australia  cannot  be  credited  to  an  Englishman, 
it  is  no  small  satisfaction  to  find  that  it  was  an  English- 
man who  first  touched  upon  its  coast.  This  was  Dampier. 
In  the  course  of  a cruise  against  the  Spaniards  towards 
the  end  of  the  seventeenth  century,  Dampier,  after 
rounding  Cape  Horn,  set  his  course  in  that  direction, 
and  fell  in  with  Australia.  Dampier  made  an  accurate 
survey  of  its  shores,  and  for  that  service  was  rewarded 
with  the  patronage  of  William  HI.  on  his  return  to 
England.  It  was  in  1770  that  its  eastern  shores  were 
traced  by  Captain  Cook  during  his  first  voyage,  and 
again  in  1777,  when  he  visited  Australia  for  the  last 
time. 

As  Tasmania  and  New  Zealand  will  be  dealt  with  in 
this  volume,  it  is  convenient  to  give  a short  account 
of  their  discovery.  With  regard  to  the  former,  all 
historians  are  agreed  that  the  credit  of  its  discovery 
belongs  to  Captain  Abel  Jansen  Tasman  in  the  year 
1633.  It  is  stated  that  New  Zealand  was  first  seen  by 
the  same  navigator  in  1642,  but  as  Tasman  never  landed 
on  its  shores,  the  honour  of  discovering  New  Zealand  is 
claimed  for  Captain  Cook,  who  actually  landed  from  the 
Endeavour  in  1769,  and  spent  some  time  on  the  shores 
of  Queen  Charlotte’s  Sounds  and  some  localities  in  the 
north  island,  leaving  Cape  Farewell  in  March,  1770,  and 


22 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


revisiting  New  Zealand  in  1773  and  1774.  Tasmania 
was  known  as  Van  Diemen's  Land  from  the  period  of 
its  discovery  by  Tasman  until  1854,  when  the  authorities 
thought  a change  of  name  desirable ; and  when  making 
the  alteration  due  regard  was  paid  to  the  memory  of  the 
man  who  discovered  the  island.  Its  present  name  was 
considered  to  be  more  euphonious,  but  the  main  reason 
for  the  change  was  that  the  name  Van  Diemen's 
Land  had  brought  the  country  into  a too  unenviable 
notoriety  on  account  of  its  connection  with  the  convict 
system,  and  that  upon  the  abolition  of  convictism  it  was 
a reflection  to  perpetuate  the  memory  of  that  system  by 
the  retention  of  the  name  originally  conferred  upon  the 
island  by  the  celebrated  Dutch  navigator.  Consequently 
Tasmania  took  the  place  of  Van  Diemen's  Land,  and 
the  civic  authorities  followed  the  example  by  calling 
their  capital  Hobart  instead  of  Hobart  Town.  Many 
of  the  “ old  hands,"  as  they  are  called,  have  not  even 
yet  become  reconciled  to  the  modern  nomenclature, 
but  adhere  steadfastly  to  names  which  are  so  closely 
associated  with  the  clang  of  prison  chains  and  brutal 
punishments.  To  the  younger  generation,  however,  the 
new  terms  are  more  acceptable,  and  they  never  by  any 
chance  apply  the  original  ones  even  when  referring  to 
events  which  happened  when  Van  Diemen's  Land  was 
a penal  settlement  under  the  administration  of  New 
South  Wales,  when  it  was  nothing  but  a gaol  upon  a 
large  scale,  and  when,  as  was  the  case  for  many  years, 
no  free  emigrant  was  allowed  to  settle  there.  The 
transition  through  which  this  beautiful  island  has  passed 
will  be  shown  in  a later  chapter. 


CHAPTER  IV 


THE  PIONEERS  OF  AUSTRALIAN  SETTLEMENT  AND 
THE  NATIVE  RACE 

HERE  is  this  to  be  said  in  connection  with  the 


X early  settlement  of  Australia — that  the  pioneers 
of  that  movement  had  no  such  difficulties  to  contend 
with  as  those  brave  and  adventurous  spirits  who  went 
forth  to  reclaim  the  wildernesses  of  North  America  or 
South  Africa.  The  Australian  pioneers  set  out  upon 
their  long  voyage  to  the  other  end  of  the  earth  with  the 
knowledge  that  when  they  got  there  no  hostile  native 
population  was  to  be  encountered.  They  were  under 
no  dread  of  the  scalping  knife  of  the  North  American 
Indian  or  of  the  assegai  of  the  ferocious  tribes  of 
Southern  Africa.  Cook’s  writings  had  assured  them 
of  the  docility  and  friendliness  of  the  Australian 
aboriginal.  The  land  was  to  be  theirs  for  the  taking 
of  it,  and  no  opposition  was  offered  to  their  enterprise. 
It  was  certainly  the  most  bloodless  conquest  in  history, 
and  if  some  of  the  natives  made  use  of  their  poisoned 
spears  and  deadly-aimed  boomerangs  in  after-times,  the 
whites  had  themselves  to  thank  for  these  racial  conflicts. 
These  were  never  of  so  serious  a nature,  however,  as  to 
materially  retard  the  progress  of  settlement  in  anything 
like  the  same  way  as  it  was  interfered  with  in  New 
Zealand  before  the  final  subjugation  of  the  Maoris. 


24 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


The  Australian  pioneers  were  allowed  to  land  without 
the  slightest  semblance  of  molestation,  and  they  might, 
if  they  had  so  chosen,  have  remained  in  unbroken 
friendly  relations  and  intercourse  with  the  aboriginal 
inhabitants  of  the  country,  and  secured  absolute  posses- 
sion of  the  whole  of  it  without  the  sacrifice  of  a single 
life.  But,  finding  the  natives  so  little  disposed  to  dispute 
the  encroachments  of  the  white  man,  advantage  was 
taken  of  their  complacent  attitude,  and  the  whites  were 
not  slow  to  show  them  that  they  were  their  masters  in 
every  way.  The  lack  of  intelligence  displayed  by  the 
Australian  blacks  and  their  incapacity  to  appreciate  the 
civilising  methods  of  the  new-comers,  impressed  the 
latter  with  the  uselessness  of  attempting  any  of  those 
assimilating  processes  which  had  been  brought  to  bear 
upon  dark  races  in  other  lands.  They  soon  grew  to 
despise  the  Australian  natives  and  to  treat  them  more 
like  dogs  than  human  beings.  As  settlement  extended 
the  cruelties  increased,  and  the  black  man’s  life  was 
esteemed  at  no  higher  value  than  that  of  a kangaroo 
or  ’possum.  Indeed  in  Australia  and  afterwards  in  Van 
Diemen’s  Land  the  gun  was  used  indiscriminately  upon 
blacks  and  kangaroos,  and  a day’s  sport  frequently 
consisted  of  a mixed  destruction  of  man  and  animal. 
Some  monsters  even  went  farther  in  this  inhuman  and 
devilish  process  of  extermination,  for  it  has  been 
established  beyond  the  possibility  of  successful  contra- 
diction that  one  of  the  practices  often  resorted  to  at 
the  end  of  the  eighteenth  and  far  into  the  nineteenth 
century  was  to  lay  poisoned  food  in  places  where  the 
natives  were  certain  to  find  it. 

It  has  been  advanced  in  extenuation  of  these  hideous 
practices  that  the  administration  was  not  so  perfect  or 
powerful  in  those  days  as  to  detect  and  punish  the 
offenders,  that  it  was  one  of  the  deplorable  results  of 
convictism,  and  that  the  majority  of  these  crimes  were 


THE  PIONEERS  OF  AUSTRALIAN  SETTLEMENT  25 


committed  by  the  desperate  characters  who  were  set 
free  upon  the  completion  of  their  terms  of  transporta- 
tion or  liberated  under  the  ticket-of-leave  system.  But, 
if  the  truth  must  be  told,  there  were  others  besides 
liberated  convicts  who  were  either  guilty  of  these 
atrocities  themselves  or  winked  at  the  perpetration  of 
them  by  others.  The  black  man  was  not  considered 
where  grazing  ranches  were  to  be  established  in  the 
interior.  If  he  persisted  in  remaining  he  was  soon 
disposed  of  He  was  given  the  choice  of  two  alterna- 
tives, either  to  retire  with  his  tribe  into  the  backwoods 
or  arid  prairies  as  yet  not  under  the  white  man’s  grasp, 
or  remain  and  take  the  consequences  of  his  persistence. 
Backwards  and  backwards  he  was  driven,  each  time 
accompanied  by  fewer  numbers  of  his  race,  until  it  has 
now  become  the  merest  remnant  of  what  it  was  at  the 
period  of  Cook’s  advent  amongst  the  black  men  of 
Australia.  Even  making  the  biggest  allowances  for 
diminution  through  periodical  epidemics,  infanticide  and 
internecine  strife,  these  will  not  in  themselves  account 
for  the  extraordinary  decimation  that  has  occurred  since 
colonisation  began  in  Australia ; and,  however  reluc- 
tantly we  may  feel  inclined  to  do  so,  we  must  look 
to  other  and  more  painful  causes  for  an  explanation 
of  the  native  depopulation  of  that  Continent. 

What  are  the  evidences  of  this  process  of  unnatural 
extinction  presented  to-day?  All  that  is  left  of  the 
native  race  in  the  Colony  of  Victoria  are  gathered  into 
two  or  three  compounds,  one  of  which  at  a place  called 
Corranderrck  was  visited  by  the  author  some  years  ago. 
In  New  South  Wales  a very  marked  decrease  has  taken 
place  ; almost  the  same  thing  can  be  said  of  Queensland 
and  of  South  Australia.  They  are  to  be  found  in  greater 
numbers  in  Western  Australia  and  the  Northern  territory, 
where,  as  in  the  case  of  Northern  and  Western  Queens- 
land, climatic  reasons  have  saved  them  from  the  rapid 


26 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


encroachments  of  a white  population.  The  semi-tropical 
sun  is  an  element  of  safety  to  the  black  man  in  those 
regions,  and  it  is  probable  he  will  still  be  found  there 
when  his  countrymen  in  the  more  temperate  latitudes  of 
the  South  have  disappeared  altogether.  But  he  is  fated 
to  extinction,  and  the  probability  is  that  before  the  first 
half  of  the  new  century  has  passed  not  a single  native 
will  be  found  living  throughout  the  whole  of  Australia. 

In  the  adjoining  island  of  Tasmania,  where  the 
aboriginal  inhabitants  were  known  to  be  pretty 
numerous  at  the  beginning  of  the  last  century,  neither 
man,  woman,  nor  child  of  them  has  been  left.  The  last 
of  them  was  seen  by  the  author  in  the  seventies,  but 
that  last  survivor  of  his  race  has  been  dead  for  nearly  a 
quarter  of  a century,  and  the  black  man’s  “ coo-ee  ” no 
longer  resounds  through  forests  where  thousands  of 
aborigines  roamed  in  undisturbed  possession  only  a 
century  ago.  Just  think  of  it!  It  has  taken  only 
three-quarters  of  a century  to  wipe  a whole  race  out 
of  existence ! The  record  speaks  for  itself. 

Writing  upon  the  destruction  of  the  Tasmanian  natives 
as  far  back  as  1835,  a resident  of  that  colony  made  the 
following  comment:  ‘‘These  poor,  bewildered  creatures 
have  been  treated  worse  than  ever  were  any  of  the 
American  tribes  by  Spaniards.  Easy,  quiet,  good- 
natured,  and  well-disposed  towards  the  white  population 
— [the  total  free  white  population  in  that  year  numbered 
25,000] — they  could  no  longer  brook  the  treatment  they 
received  from  the  invaders  of  their  country.  Their 
hunting-grounds  were  taken  from  them,  and  they  them- 
selves were  driven  like  trespassers  from  their  favourite 
spots.  The  stock-keepers  may  be  considered  as  the 
destroyers  of  nearly  the  whole  of  the  aborigines,  the 
proper  and  legitimate  owners  of  the  soil.  These  mis- 
creants so  imposed  upon  their  docility  that  at  length 
they  thought  little  or  nothing  of  destroying  the  men  for 


THE  PIONEERS  OF  AUSTRALIAN  SETTLEMENT  27 


the  sake  of  carrying  to  their  huts  the  females  of  the  tribes, 
and  if  it  were  possible  to  record  but  a tithe  of  the  mur- 
ders committed  on  these  poor,  harmless  creatures,  it  would 
make  the  reader’s  blood  run  cold  at  the  bare  recital.” 

It  would,  however,  be  going  too  far  to  place  the 
responsibility  for  this  result,  or  for  the  decrease  of  the 
native  population  of  Australia,  upon  the  shoulders  of 
those  who  occupied  positions  of  authority  from  time 
to  time  since  the  landing  of  Governor  Phillip  in  New 
South  Wales.  In  several  instances  there  were  Governors 
and  other  high  officials  in  New  South  Wales  and  Van 
Diemen’s  Land  who  had  the  greatest  solicitude  for  the 
welfare  of  the  native  people,  and  did  everything  they 
could  to  prevent  their  extermination;  but  there  were 
others  not  quite  so  mindful  of  their  interests.  The 
administration  of  justice  was  beset  with  many  difficul- 
ties, and  acts  of  lawlessness  and  inhumanity  were  often 
committed  with  impunity.  This  was  a natural  outcome 
of  the  peculiar  system  under  which  Australian  colonisa- 
tion was  started.  At  its  initial  stage,  the  total  number 
of  free  persons  conveyed  to  the  new  settlement  amounted 
to  only  half  the  number  of  convicts,  and  subsequent 
shipments  were  for  a long  time  in  like  proportions. 
Out  of  such  disproportioned  elements  of  bondmen  and 
free,  it  was  hopeless  to  expect  the  same  respect  for  law 
and  order  as  would  prevail  in  communities  formed  out 
of  more  desirable  material,  and  the  consequence  was 
that  the  early  governors  and  officials  had  difficulties 
to  contend  with  which  would  not  be  encountered  under 
circumstances  more  favourable  to  settlement ; but  it  is 
beyond  question  that  some  of  these  governors  and 
Crown  officials  paid  no  regard  whatever  to  the  pre- 
servation of  the  native  races  on  the  Continent  and  in 
Van  Diemen’s  Land,  and  made  no  effort  to  bring  the 
perpetrators  of  outrages  upon  them  to  justice. 

In  Tasmania,  as  in  Australia,  the  natives  were  remorse- 


28 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


lessly  hunted  down,  the  men  foully  murdered,  and  their 
women  carried  off  for  purposes  narrated  by  the  writer 
already  quoted  ; and  the  record  cannot  be  challenged 
that  in  1830  an  extraordinary  attempt  was  made  by 
Governor  Arthur  to  catch  and  pen  up  in  Tasman's 
Peninsula,  with  the  ostensible  object  of  transporting  to 
Flinder's  Island  the  whole  of  the  aboriginal  population 
of  Van  Diemen's  Land.  Upwards  of  3,500  whites, 
including  thirty  soldiers,  turned  out  for  the  exciting 
operation  of  clearing  Tasmania  of  their  presence  by 
means  of  a cordon  across  the  island.  The  attempt 
proved  a total  failure.  Only  two  natives  were  captured, 
and  the  cost  of  the  expedition  amounted  to  no  less  a 
sum  than  ;^35,ooo.  After  the  failure  of  this  attempt  to 
deport  the  natives  from  their  own  country,  the  original 
process  of  extermination  went  on  apace,  and  we  have 
already  seen  how  in  the  short  period  of  thirty-five  years 
the  whole  Tasmanian  race  dwindled  to  a vanishing  point 
by  the  demise  of  its  solitary  survivor. 

No  reliable  estimate  has  ever  been  made  of  the  number 
of  aborigines  who  inhabited  Australia  and  Tasmania 
when  the  whites  first  took  up  their  abode  in  these 
countries.  The  number  in  the  whole  of  Australia  has 
been  set  down  at  3,000,000,  and  Governor  Phillip  esti- 
mated that  in  his  time  New  South  Wales  contained 
1,000,000.  The  first  settlers  at  Port  Phillip  believed  the 
total  population  there  was  about  5,000.  When  Victoria 
become  an  independent  colony  in  1851  the  number  was 
officially  stated  to  be  2,69^.  In  South  Australia  in  1876 
the  number  was  said  to  be^2,203  males  and  1,750  females. 
In  Queensland  and  Western  Australia  the  aboriginal 
population  was  never  ascertained  with  any  degree  of 
certainty.  The  estimate  of  3,000,000  for  the  whole  of 
Australia  may  be  an  exaggerated  one,  or  it  may  be  even 
below  what  the  aboriginal  population  actually  was. 
There  were  too  many  difficulties  in  the  way  of  correct 


THE  PIONEERS  OF  AUSTRALIAN  SETTLEMENT  29 


data  being  arrived  at ; the  only  thing  certain  is  that 
from  the  numbers  seen  in  the  vicinity  of  the  settlements 
in  early  times,  the  race  must  have  been  a numerous  one 
both  on  the  Continent  and  in  Van  Diemen’s  Land  when 
colonisation  began. 

In  his  book  upon  South  Australia,  Mr.  James  Dominick 
Woods  contributes  much  valuable  information  upon  the 
aborigines  of  Australia.  Like  most  other  people,  how- 
ever, Mr.  Woods  is  unable  to  fix  the  region  from  which 
the  Australian  aborigines  originally  came.  He  supposes, 
like  most  other  writers  on  the  subject,  that  they  are  of 
Malaysian  origin,  and  that  they  found  their  way  to  the 
continent  of  Australia  from  some  of  the  islands  which  are 
not  far  distant  from  the  northern  shores.  The  habits  and 
customs  of  the  native  people  all  over  the  continent,  says 
Mr.  Woods,  exhibit  a great  uniformity.  Such  diver- 
gences as  have  been  noticed  amongst  them  are  not  so 
distinctive  as  to  establish  the  fact  that  there  were  origin- 
ally more  races  than  one.  Science,  however,  throws  a 
little  light  on  one  part  of  the  question.  At  a meeting 
of  the  Congress  for  the  Advancement  of  Social  Science, 
held  not  long  since  in  Adelaide,  in  a paper  upon 
“ Pre-historic  Man,”  by  Dr.  E.  C.  Stirling,  lecturer  on 
physiology  in  the  University  of  Adelaide,  it  was  stated 
that  the  prevailing  type  of  Australian  skull  has  a 
remarkable  resemblance  to  the  Neanderthal  skull.  Pro- 
fessor MacAlister,  of  Cambridge,  one  of  the  leading 
anatomists  and  anthropologists  of  the  day,  to  whom  a 
cast  of  King  Billy  Rufus’  skull  was  presented,  said  it 
was  the  most  Neanderthaloid  skull  he  had  seen.  There 
are  other  skulls  in  the  Adelaide  museum  very  similar  to 
it,  and  it  may  be  taken  as  typically  Australian.  Another 
curious  point  of  resemblance  between  paleolithic  man 
and  the  modern  Australian  aboriginal  is  the  fibula,  or 
outer  bone  of  the  leg  below  the  knee.  In  each  case  it 
was  remarkably  flattened  or  fluted. 


30 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


There  is  another  point  of  resemblance,  continues  Mr. 
Woods,  in  the  weapons  used  by  the  aborigines.  They 
are  of  wood  and  stone.  None  of  the  tribes  have  shown 
any  knowledge  of  iron  or  other  metals,  or  of  their  uses, 
and  whatever  they  may  have  learned  respecting  them 
has  been  gained  from  their  intercourse  with  white  men. 
In  time  to  come  more  evidence  may  be  brought  to  light 
which  may  tend  to  connect  the  Australian  savage  with 
the  paleolithic  stage  of  human  progress.  Caves  are 
abundant  in  various  parts  of  the  Continent,  where  large 
accumulations  of  the  bones  of  animals  (some  of  them 
extinct)  have  been  discovered. 

In  1842  Dr.  Moorhouse,  Protector  of  Aborigines, 
estimated  that  there  were  about  3,000  aborigines  in 
South  Australia  (the  Northern  Territory  not  being 
included).  Those  who  inhabited  the  Northern  Terri- 
tory amounted  to  20,655,  of  whom  12,849  were  males 
and  7,806  females.  In  1891  the  census  showed  that  in 
South  Australia  proper  the  aborigines  numbered  3,134, 
comprising  1,661  males  and  1,473  females.  There  is 
nothing  to  enable  it  to  be  determined  whether  the 
aborigines  in  the  Northern  Territory  have  increased  or 
decreased  since  that  part  of  the  country  was  taken  up 
by  the  whites.  In  all  probability  they  have  greatly 
diminished  in  number,  because  the  excess  of  males  over 
females  is  so  great  as  to  render  an  increase  scarcely 
possible.  The  proportion  between  the  sexes  in  the 
whole  colony  stands  thus  : males,  61  per  cent. ; females, 
39  per  cent.  In  the  Northern  Territory  taken  alone 
there  are  62*21  per  cent,  of  males  to  3779  per  cent,  of 
females ; and  in  South  Australia  proper  the  relative 
proportions  are:  males,  53  per  cent;  females,  47  per 
cent  The  number  of  children  belonging  to  the  tribes 
of  the  Northern  Territory  could  not  be  ascertained  with 
sufficient  exactness  to  be  of  much  use.  In  the  southern 
portion  of  the  colony  there  are  no  more  than  506 


THE  PIONEERS  OF  AUSTRALIAN  SETTLEMENT  31 


children.  The  number  of  adults  of  both  sexes  is  given 
as  2,628,  so  that  the  fact  is  established  that  they  out- 
number the  children  in  the  proportion  of  five  to  one. 
Since  the  males  in  the  Northern  Territory  preponderate 
over  the  females  in  a much  greater  ratio  than  they  do 
in  the  southern  part  of  the  colony,  it  is  highly  probable 
that  the  disproportion  between  the  adults  and  the 
children  in  the  north  is  even  more  marked  than  it  is  in 
the  south. 

Mr.  Woods  throws  considerable  light  on  this  branch 
of  the  subject  by  stating  that,  whatever  effect  the  dispro- 
portion between  the  sexes  may  have  in  checking  increase 
amongst  the  natives,  the  arbitrary  and  unequal  distribu- 
tion of  the  marriageable  women  emphasises  it  more 
strongly.  Polygamy  is  a custom  common  to  all  of  the 
tribes,  and  whilst  the  old  men  may  possess  two,  three, 
or  more  wives,  most  of  the  other  men,  and  especially 
the  young  ones,  have  none  at  all.  Under  such  circum- 
stances it  cannot  be  surprising  that  immorality  and 
licentiousness  are  everywhere  prevalent,  and  are  not 
regarded  as  circumstances  of  any  great  moment.  Such 
conditions  of  life  cannot  fail  to  operate  adversely  against 
the  multiplication  of  the  progeny  of  the  blacks.  The 
practice  of  infanticide,  especially  the  destruction  of 
female  infants,  is  universal  throughout  Australia.  None 
of  the  tribes  which  have  been  met  with  in  any  portion 
of  the  Continent  are  untainted  with  it.  Mr.  Eyre,  who 
was  Protector  of  the  Aborigines  at  Morrandi,  whose 
account  of  the  tribes  amongst  whom  he  was  stationed  is 
the  most  complete  that  has  been  written  about  them, 
states  that  each  of  the  aboriginal  women  has  on  the 
average  five  children,  nine  being  the  greatest  number 
known,  but  that  each  mother  rears  on  the  average  not 
more  than  two  of  her  offspring.  Some  of  them,  it  is 
clear,  must  occasionally  be  taken  off  by  natural  causes, 
and  the  remainder  that  are  not  put  out  of  the  way  is  all 


32 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


that  can  be  depended  on  for  the  continuance  of  the  race. 
One  reason  why  infanticide  is  so  prevalent  is  that  the 
women  are  the  absolute  slaves  of  their  husbands.  They 
are  literally  beasts  of  burthen,  and  have  to  do  all  the 
hard  work  that  can  be  imposed  upon  them.  Dereliction 
of  duty  or  disobedience  is  visited  by  the  most  brutal 
personal  chastisement,  inflicted  with  heavy  sticks. 
Sometimes  the  wives  are  speared  by  their  owners  or 
husbands,  and  at  times  fatally.  Children,  especially  the 
females,  are  intolerable  burthens  to  the  women,  and  to 
some  extent  drags  upon  their  fathers.  The  fewer  of 
them,  therefore,  the  better.  There  is  less  toil  and 
drudgery  for  the  women,  and  less  trouble  for  the  men  as 
fathers  of  families  ; thus  the  smallest  number  of  unpro- 
fitable mouths  to  tax  the  resources  of  the  tribe  is 
secured.  It  must  not  be  concluded  from  this  that  the 
natives  are  devoid  of  affection  for  their  children.  In 
his  book,  ‘‘The  Native  Tribes  of  South  Australia,’’  Dr. 
Moorhouse,  Protector  of  Aborigines  in  Adelaide,  remarks 
on  this  subject  as  follows  : “ In  their  dispositions  they 
display  strong  affection  for  each  other,  great  fondness 
for  children,  and  attachment  to  persons  who  are  kind  to 
them.  On  the  other  hand,  they  indulge  in  every  evil 
passion  to  excess,  and,  estimating  human  life  as  of  low 
value,  do  not  hesitate  to  sacrifice  it  for  a trivial  insult. 
As  their  women  are  obtained  from  other  tribes,  by  theft 
or  otherwise,  female  infants  at  birth  are  not  infrequently 
put  to  death  for  the  sake  of  more  valuable  boys,  who 
are  still  being  suckled,  though  three  or  four  years 
old,  or  even  more.  A female  infant  just  born  was  thus 
about  to  be  destroyed  for  the  benefit  of  a boy  about 
four  years  old,  whom  the  mother  was  nourishing,  while 
the  father  was  standing  by  ready  to  commit  the  deed. 
Through  the  kindness  of  a lady  to  whom  the  circum- 
stances became  known,  and  our  joint  interference,  this 
one  life  was  saved,  and  the  child  was  properly  attended 


THE  PIONEERS  OF  AUSTRALIAN  SETTLEMENT  33 


to  by  its  mother,  although  she  at  first  urged  the  neces- 
sity of  its  death  as  strenuously  as  the  father/'  In  other 
parts  of  the  country  the  women  do  the  horrible  work 
themselves.  One  instance  is  recorded  by  Mr.  W.  H. 
Willshire,  in  his  Aborigines  of  Central  Australasia,"  in 
which  a native  woman  killed  her  child,  cooked  and  ate 
it.  More  instances  could  be  mentioned  of  a like  nature, 
but  one  is  sufficient.  Other  practices  are  followed  by 
some  of  the  tribes  which  must  interfere  largely  with  the 
continuance  of  the  race.  Rites  are  performed  on  the 
youth  of  either  sex,  but  particularly  in  Central  Australia, 
which  destroy  the  possibility  of  procreation  by  those 
who  are  subjected  to  them.  In  the  case  of  males  the 
result  is  inevitable  ; in  the  case  of  females  it  is  not  so 
certain,  though  the  rite  inflicts  permanent  physical 
injury  upon  them.  Wars,  epidemics  and  other  diseases, 
dearth  of  food,  accidents,  and  cannibalism  must  be 
reckoned  amongst  the  causes  which  make  continual 
inroads  upon  the  numerical  strength  of  the  native  popu- 
lation, and  will  ultimately  lead  to  its  extinction.  As 
far  as  statistics  go,  it  seems  that  the  blacks  are  fading 
away  in  the  settled  country  at  the  rate  of  about  i J per 
cent,  per  annum,  so  that  in  another  half-century  the 
probability  is  that  there  will  not  be  a solitary  black- 
fellow  left.  Wars,  want  of  food,  and  cannibalism  must 
be  eliminated  from  the  causes  which  operate  against  the 
survival  of  the  aborigines  in  the  settled  districts.  On 
the  subject  of  infanticide  nothing  can  be  said  except 
that  the  proportion  of  children  to  mothers  and  fathers 
remains  about  the  same  now  as  it  was  fifty  years  ago, 
when  Mr.  Eyre  was  Protector  of  Aborigines.  It  must 
be  borne  in  mind  that  probably  not  one-fourth  of  the 
natives  who  wander  about  the  country  are  under  the 
control  or  influence  of  the  institutions  which  have  been 
established  for  their  benefit,  and  not  a great  deal  is 
known  of  their  actions  when  they  are  by  themselves  in 

4 


34 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


the  bush.  Old  men  of  the  tribes  are  tenacious  of  their 
early  customs,  and  cannot  be  induced  to  relinquish 
them.  The  mutilations  which  are  inflicted,  upon  males 
especially,  are  not  known  in  the  extreme  north,  nor  in 
the  south.  They  are  mostly  practised  in  Central 
Australia.  Unfortunately,  so  little  has  been  brought  to 
light  with  regard  to  the  aborigines  of  that  large  tract  of 
country,  that  it  is  at  present  impossible  to  define  the 
limits  within  which  the  usage  is  confined. 

The  irruption  of  the  whites  (says  Mr.  Woods)  into 
the  territories  of  the  blacks  has  contributed  to  some 
extent  towards  the  disappearance  of  the  native  races. 
The  territories  were  theirs,  and  they  were  sufficient  to 
sustain  the  wild  animals  on  which,  for  the  most  part,  they 
fed.  The  occupation  of  the  land  drove  the  game  away, 
and  the  cultivation  of  the  soil,  as  it  went  on,  exterminated 
the  roots  which  formed  some  portion  of  their  food. 
They  thus  became  by  degrees  entirely  dependent  on  the 
settlers,  and  by  so  doing  fell  into  some  of  the  habits  of 
white  people — harmless  perhaps  to  them,  but  highly 
detrimental  to  the  natives.  Clothing,  unsuitable  food,  the 
use  of  strong  drinks  (for  which  they  very  rapidly  formed 
a liking),  the  loss  of  their  wonted  free  life,  and  the 
contraction  of  diseases  not  previously  existing  amongst 
them,  did  their  work. 

Whilst  the  practice  of  infanticide,  the  disproportion  of 
women  to  men,  and  the  rites  previously  referred  to  on 
the  youth  of  both  sexes,  account  for  a considerable 
diminution  of  the  blacks  in  Australia,  it  cannot  be 
denied  that  the  decimation  of  the  aboriginal  inhabitants 
is  very  largely  due  to  acts  of  violence  on  the  part  of  the 
whites.  The  author  is  desirous,  however,  of  showing 
that  other  causes  have  likewise  contributed  to  it,  and  in 
order  that  the  case  might  be  fairly  stated,  he  has  taken 
the  opportunity  of  showing  that  by  their  own  rites  and 
customs  the  blacks  are  themselves  in  a great  measure 


THE  PIONEERS  OF  AUSTRALIAN  SETTLEMENT  35 


responsible  for  the  decrease  which  will  probably  termi- 
nate in  their  own  extinction  years  before  the  end  of  the 
present  century.  At  the  same  time  the  irruption  of  the 
white  race  upon  the  Australian  Continent  has  been 
the  means  of  hastening  the  eventual  extermination  of 
the  aboriginal  inhabitants,  and  that  fact  is  absolutely 
incontrovertible. 


CHAPTER  V 


JUST  IN  TIME — THE  FIRST  SHIP— DOCILE  NATIVES — 
VAN  DIEMEN’S  I.AND — JOPIN  MITCHEL,  WILLIAM 
SMITFI  O’BRIEN,  JOHN  MARTIN,  AND  OTPIER 
POLITICAL  OFFENDERS 

IT  SO  happened  that  Governor  Phillip  and  the  pioneer 
settlers  and  convicts  under  his  charge  did  not 
reach  Botany  Bay  many  days  too  soon,  for  very  shortly 
after  his  arrival  the  French  navigator.  La  Perouse,  made 
his  appearance  in  that  historic  arm  of  the  sea  a few 
miles  to  the  southward  of  Port  Jackson.  It  was  clearly 
the  intention  of  La  Perouse  to  take  possession  of 
Australia  in  the  name  of  the  French  Government,  which, 
unknown  to  the  navigator  himself,  was  then  tottering 
to  its  fall.  La  Perouse  had  no  conception  that  in  the 
very  year  afterwards  France  would  be  plunged  in  the 
most  sanguinary  revolution  the  world  has  ever  seen. 
Little  did  he  know  how  near  the  master  he  was  serving 
was  to  the  scaffold,  how  speedily  the  French  Monarchy 
was  to  be  overthrown,  and  a Republic  set  up  in  its  place, 
to  be  followed  by  a Reign  of  Terror  which  deluged  his 
nation  in  blood.  Robespierre,  Marat,  Desmoulins  and 
others,  who  figured  conspicuously  in  that  terrible 
upheaval,  were  then  too  obscure  to  be  known  even  by 
reputation  to  La  Perouse,  and  the  great  Napoleon  was 

yet  to  appear  upon  the  horizon  and  make  himself  famous. 

36 


JUST  IN  TIME 


37 


It  was  fortunate,  perhaps,  for  La  Perouse  that  he  did  not 
live  to  be  contemporaneous  with  the  thrilling  episodes 
which  render  French  history  such  a fascinating  study 
from  1789  to  the  death  of  the  captive  Bonaparte  at  St 
Helena.  When  La  Perouse  set  forth  from  France  upon 
the  last  voyage  of  discovery  he  was  destined  to  make, 
the  monarchy  seemed  to  be  absolutely  secure  ; in  the 
Court  and  amongst  the  aristocracy  there  was  not  the 
remotest  suspicion  of  the  events  which  were  so  soon 
to  overwhelm  them  and  consign  thousands  of  their 
number  to  the  scaffold.  Under  the  patronage  of 
Louis  XVI.,  La  Perouse  sallied  out  in  a well-appointed 
ship  upon  a mission  to  the  other  ends  of  the  earth  to 
discover  new  possessions  for  his  royal  master,  and  the 
seizure  of  Australia  formed  a portion  of  the  project.  It 
was  not  recognised  by  France  that  the  mere  hoisting  of 
the  British  flag  by  Captain  Cook  at  Botany  Bay  in  1770 
made  it  a British  possession,  especially  as  nothing  had 
been  done  by  the  British  Government  in  the  meantime 
to  utilise  the  Continent  in  any  way.  Therefore,  it  was 
part  of  La  Perouse's  scheme  to  secure  Australia  for 
France.  How  near  he  came  to  accomplishing  his  object 
may  be  realised  when  it  is  stated  that  Governor  Phillip 
forestalled  him  by  only  a few  days.  When  La  Perouse 
reached  Botany  Bay  and  dropped  anchor  there,  he  was 
much  chagrined  to  find  the  British  already  in  possession. 
The  British  colours  were  flying  upon  a flagstaff  on  shore, 
and  Phillip’s  newly-arrived  fleet  was  still  there,  making 
preparations  for  moving  round  to  Port  Jackson.  Thus 
Australia  narrowly  escaped  becoming  a French  colony. 
Disappointed  and  annoyed  at  this  unexpected  issue  of 
events.  La  Perouse  soon  took  his  departure,  to  make 
other  explorations  in  the  Pacific,  and  was  never  heard 
of  again. 

The  real  history  of  Australian  colonisation,  therefore, 
begins  with  the  arrival  at  Botany  Bay,  and  later  on  at 


38 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NFAV 


Port  Jackson,  of  the  1,044  souls,  conveyed  there  in 
Governor  Phillip’s  fleet  of  eleven  sail,  which  left  Eng- 
land in  May,  1787,  and  reached  its  destination  eight 
months  afterwards.  The  same  distance  can  now  be 
covered  by  steamers,  calling  at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope 
outwards,  in  five  or  six  weeks.  It  will  thus  be  seen 
that  for  many  decades  distance  was  the  principal  cause, 
coupled  with  convictism,  which  retarded  the  expansion 
of  Australian  settlement : not  because  it  did  not  offer 
exceptional  advantages  for  founding  new  homes  so  far 
across  the  sea,  but  because  it  took  too  long  a time  to 
get  there,  and  the  conveniences  and  conditions  of  transit 
were  far  from  inviting.  The  cost,  too,  was  also  beyond 
the  means  of  most  people  of  the  class  which  desired  to 
emigrate,  and  consequently  they  turned  their  eyes 
westward,  and  became  settlers  in  the  United  States. 
Australia  in  those  days  had  none  too  good  a reputation. 
The  taint  of  convictism  was  upon  it,  and  it  had  no 
attraction  for  the  thousands  of  free  men  and  women 
who  preferred  crossing  the  Atlantic.  Therefore,  for 
many  years  the  progress  of  settlement  in  Australia  was 
exceedingly  slow.  But  distance  has  since  been  annihi- 
lated by  regular  and  rapid  means  of  communication  ; 
the  transportation  of  criminals  to  its  shores  has  ceased 
long  ago  ; and  if,  after  the  lapse  of  one  hundred  and 
twelve  years,  the  white  population  of  the  Australian 
Continent  still  falls  considerably  short  of  five  millions, 
that  slowness  of  growth  must  not  be  accepted  as  an 
indication  of  what  its  development  will  be  in  the  years 
to  come.  According  to  the  calculations  of  the  late  Mr. 
Hayter,  the  eminent  Statist  of  Victoria,  at  the  end  of 
the  first  fifty  years  of  the  present  century,  the  popula- 
lation  of  Australia  should  be  32,782,290,  and  in  the 
year  2001  it  should  be  no  less  than  189,269,688.  If 
Mr.  Ilayter’s  estimate  of  prospective  increase  proves 
correct,  there  will  be  ample  room  for  the  whole  of  them. 


JUST  IN  TIME 


39 


No  apology  is  needed  for  this  apparent  digression  from 
the  consecutive  narrative  of  events,  because  Australia 
has  begun  to  claim  a very  large  share  of  public  attention 
in  Great  Britain,  and  people  are  interested  in  knowing 
what  the  probabilities  are,  now  that  United  Australia 
has  entered  upon  a new  era  of  its  existence,  and  gives 
fair  promise  of  a rapid  march  onward  under  conditions 
eminently  conducive  to  advancement. 

When  the  pioneers  of  Australian  settlement  reached 
Botany  Bay  and  disembarked  some  days  later  at  Port 
Jackson,  they  found  Captain  Cook’s  description  of  the 
natives  exact  in  most  particulars.  When  he  saw  them 
at  Botany  Bay  eighteen  years  previously,  the  men 
and  women  were  quite  naked.  The  former  had  the 
gristle  of  their  noses  bored  and  long  pieces  of  bird’s 
bone  run  through  them  as  ornamental  decorations  to 
the  face.  The  ends  protruded  crossways  beyond  the 
cheeks,  and  gave  these  naked  wild  men  an  appearance 
most  grotesque.  But  they  were  harmless,  and  even 
friendly,  and  docile  to  an  unexpected  degree.  No 
change  in  their  appearance  and  demeanour  was  notice- 
able when  Governor  Phillip’s  mixed  freight  of  free 
settlers  and  convicts  went  amongst  them.  These 
pioneers  had  other  advantages  favourable  to  settlement, 
besides  those  arising  from  the  presence  of  a native 
population  whose  docility  and  simple-mindedness  were 
obvious.  They  went  to  settle  in  a land  whose  plains 
and  forests  were  free  from  any  of  those  beasts  of  prey 
formidable  to  man  in  North  America  and  South  Africa. 
This  fact  undoubtedly  favoured  the  occupation  of  the 
country.  Snakes  were,  unfortunately,  abundant,  and 
snake-bite  was  frequently  the  cause  of  death,  as  it 
is  to  this  day  in  various  parts  of  Australia.  But  if 
the  early  settlers  had  no  hostile  race  to  contend  with, 
and  no  beasts  of  prey  as  a source  of  danger  to  them, 
on  the  other  hand  the  dryness  of  the  climate  and 


40 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


the  scarcity  of  watercourses  were  no  ordinary  perils 
to  be  encountered.  Distance  from  the  great  centres 
of  population  and  the  markets  of  the  outer  world 
was  a serious  disadvantage  from  the  start.  For 
some  years  the  extension  of  settlement  was  a slow 
process,  notwithstanding  that  grants  of  land  were 
made  to  industrious  couples.  The  white  population, 
however,  increased  at  a satisfactory  rate,  and  when 
Governor  Phillip  returned  to  England  at  the  end  of 
1792,  it  stood  at  3,500,  including  those  on  Norfolk 
Island,  which  had  become  a branch  convict  settlement 
under  Lieutenant  King.  In  January,  1793,  the  first 
batch  of  free  settlers,  mostly  farming  men,  arrived  and 
settled  on  Liberty  Plains  ; but  they  afterwards  emigrated 
to  the  Hawkesbury,  and  henceforward  the  stream  of 
free  emigration  continued  to  flow  but  slowly.  When 
Governor  Hunter  left  the  colony  in  1800,  the  white 
population  numbered  5,547,  besides  91 1 on  Norfolk 
Island. 

Van  Diemen’s  Land  was  the  next  place  in  which  a 
settlement  was  formed,  and  the  first  party  of  settlers 
landed  there  in  1803.  It  consisted  of  twenty-one 
persons  only,  of  whom  ten  men  and  six  women  were 
convicts.  The  locality  chosen  by  Captain  Bowren  was 
Risdon  Cove,  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Derwent,  but  it  was 
abandoned  shortly  afterwards,  and  the  convicts  were 
moved  about  twelve  miles  farther  up  the  river.  It  was 
Colonel  Collins  who  was  in  charge  of  the  second  batch, 
which  consisted  of  thirteen  officers,  forty-four  marines, 
and  three  hundred  and  sixty-seven  convicts.  The  site 
he  selected  for  this  penal  settlement  was  what  he 
named  Hobart  Town,  in  honour  of  Lord  Hobart,  the 
then  Secretary  of  State  for  the  Colonies. 

It  was  under  these  unfavourable  auspices  that  the 
settlement  of  Van  Diemen’s  Land  began.  A penal 
station  for  the  worst  class  of  offenders  was  afterwards 


JUST  IN  TIME 


41 


established  at  Macquarie  Harbour.  Free  colonists  who 
committed  crimes  of  a grave  nature  were  also  sent  there; 
and  what  with  the  vilest  type  of  imported  felon  and  the 
colonial  product  included  in  the  same  order  of  classifica- 
tion, Macquarie  Harbour,  as  a chronicler  of  the  time 
describes  it,  became  a “ hell  upon  earth.”  And  such  it 
undoubtedly  was. 

Speaking  of  convicts  who  were  not  of  this  type,  the 
same  writer  adds  “that  the  British  convict  on  his  arrival, 
if  he  behaves  himself  well,  is  better  off  than  millions  of 
his  countrymen  at  home ; but  if  he  once  offends  the  laws 
in  the  colony,  misery  follows.”  This  has  evident  refer- 
ence to  the  opportunities  that  were  offered  him  after  he 
became  an  “ assigned  servant.” 

After  being  established  and  kept  going  for  about  ten 
years,  Macquarie  Harbour  was  abandoned,  and  then 
Port  Arthur  next  came  into  notoriety  as  a penal  station, 
followed  by  the  establishment  of  another  at  Maria  Island. 

It  was  not  until  the  year  1821  that  the  first  free  emi- 
grants arrived  at  Hobart,  if  the  few  are  not  to  be 
reckoned  who  went  there  at  various  times  between  then 
and  1803. 

In  1820  the  convict  population  numbered  5,908,  and 
in  1838  it  stood  at  18,133  ; but  in  1832  Van  Diemen's 
Land  became  a place  of  transportation  for  convicts  from 
New  South  Wales,  and  between  1846  and  1850  more 
than  25,000  convicts  were  brought  into  Van  Diemen's 
Land  from  New  South  Wales  and  Great  Britain.  Three 
years  afterwards  the  Duke  of  Newcastle  decided,  after  re- 
peated protests  from  the  colonists,  that  no  more  convicts 
should  be  sent  to  Van  Diemen's  Land. 

Transportation  to  New  South  Wales  came  to  an  end 
in  1839.  The  total  number  of  convicts  sent  to  that 
colony  from  its  foundation  to  the  arrival  of  the  last 
convict  ship,  the  Eden,  in  November,  1839,  was  59,788 
— SL082  males  and  8,706  females  ; but  the  system  was 


42 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


continued,  so  far  as  Van  Diemen’s  Land  was  concerned, 
until  1853,  up  to  which  period  67,665  convicts  had  been 
sent  to  that  island — 56,042  males  and  1 1,613  females. 
From  that  period  until  1868,  convicts  were  sent  from 
Great  Britain  to  Western  Australia,  that  colony  receiv- 
ing 9,718,  all  of  the  masculine  sex.  These  included  a 
number  of  Irish  political  prisoners,  who  had  been  con- 
victed for  their  connection  with  the  Fenian  movement 
and  the  plot  to  seize  Chester  Castle. 

So  far  as  political  offenders  are  concerned.  Van 
Diemen’s  Land  possesses  far  more  historical  interest 
than  any  of  the  other  penal  settlements  in  Austra- 
lasia. Here  it  was  that  John  Mitchel  found  himself 
after  leaving  Bermuda  and  the  Cape.  Mr.  Mitchel  had 
been  the  proprietor  of  the  United  Irishman^  and  for 
certain  articles  in  that  paper  he  was  sentenced  to 
fourteen  years’  transportation  in  May,  1848.  He 
arrived  at  Hobart  Town  in  April  of  the  following 
year.  He  was  offered  a ticket-of-leave  enabling  him 
to  reside  at  large  in  some  police  district  in  the  interior, 
subject  to  no  restriction  save  the  necessity  of  reporting 
himself  to  the  district  police  magistrate  once  a month. 
After  ten  months’  confinement  in  the  hulks  at  Bermuda, 
and  eleven  months  and  seventeen  days  on  board  the 
Neptujie,  Mr.  Mitchel  was  in  very  shattered  health — he 
suffered  terribly  from  asthma — when  he  reached  Hobart 
Town,  and  he  accepted  the  ticket-of-leave,  promising 
not  to  escape  so  long  as  he  should  enjoy  the  compara- 
tive liberty  of  the  ticket.  Others  of  his  countrymen 
had  reached  Van  Diemen’s  Land  before  him,  includ- 
ing William  Smith  O’Brien,  John  Martin,  Meagher, 
MacManus,  and  O’Doherty.  At  his  special  request, 
permission  was  given  to  John  Mitchel  to  go  and  reside 
with  his  old  friend  John  Martin  at  the  village  of  Both- 
well.  They  procured  a farm  of  two  hundred  acres  of 
land  and  worked  there  for  some  time,  Mr.  Mitchel’s 


JUST  IN  TIME 


43 


wife  and  family  arriving  in  the  meantime.  Friends  of 
Mr.  Mitchel  in  New  York  determined  upon  rescuing 
him  and  carrying  him  to  America,  and  with  that  object 
despatched  an  agent  who  could  be  safely  entrusted  with 
such  a mission,  and  with  adequate  funds  at  his  disposal 
for  the  purpose.  A considerable  time  elapsed  before 
this  agent  could  perfect  his  plans,  and  in  order  that  he 
could  not  be  charged  with  breaking  his  parole  Mr. 
Mitchel,  on  the  8th  of  June,  1853,  sent  a note  to  the 
Lieutenant  - Governor,  resigning  the  ticket -of- leave, 
withdrawing  his  parole,  and  stating  that  he  would 
forthwith  present  himself  before  the  police  magistrate 
at  Bothwell  at  his  office,  show  him  a copy  of  the  note, 
and  offer  himself  to  be  taken  into  custody.  Mr. 
Mitchel  was  as  good  as  his  word,  for  on  the  following 
day  he  and  the  agent  from  New  York  went  to  the 
office  of  the  police  magistrate,  and  gave  him  a copy  of 
the  note.  The  magistrate  (whose  name  was  Davis)  was 
perfectly  dazed  and  irresolute,  and  after  observing  that 
his  parole  was  at  an  end  from  that  moment,  Mr.  Mitchel 
and  the  American  agent  walked  out,  got  on  their 
horses,  and  were  soon  lost  to  sight  in  the  woods. 
After  several  weeks  of  hiding  and  adventure,  Mr. 
Mitchel  reached  Hobart  Town,  lay  concealed  in  a 
friend’s  house  down  the  Sandy  Bay  Road,  and  was 
taken  on  board  a vessel  in  the  Derwent  bound  for 
Sydney.  The  American  agent  had  managed  matters 
so  well  that  Mrs.  Mitchel  and  her  children  were  on 
board  also,  but,  of  course,  they  dared  not  recognise  each 
other.  They  got  to  Sydney,  and  thence  to  New  York. 
Mr.  Mitchel  had  an  eventful  life  in  America,  and  during 
the  Civil  War  he  was  attached  to  the  ambulance  depart- 
ment, and  had  the  misfortune  to  lose  two  of  his  sons  in 
that  fratricidal  strife.  Finally,  returning  to  Ireland,  he 
died  on  the  20th  of  March,  1875,  at  Drumolain,  near 
Newry.  On  his  return  to  Ireland,  Mr.  Mitchel  was 


44 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


elected  to  the  House  of  Commons  for  Tipperary.  Mr. 
Disraeli  had  the  election  declared  null  and  void  because 
of  Mr.  Mitchel’s  sentence  of  transportation.  A new 
writ  was  issued,  and  Tipperary  again  returned  Mr. 
Mitchel  by  a still  greater  majority  than  before.  But  he 
was  then  on  his  death-bed.  Mr.  John  Martin,  the 
companion  of  his  exile  near  Bothwell,  after  being 
amnestied,  returned  to  Europe,  lived  for  a considerable 
time  in  Paris,  and,  eventually  going  to  Ireland,  died  in 
the  same  house  on  the  ninth  day  after  his  friend  Mr. 
Mitchel  had  passed  away.  During  a recent  visit  to 
Ireland  the  author  was  fortunate  enough  to  make  the 
acquaintance  of  the  lady  who  was  Mr.  MitcheFs  sister 
and  Mr.  Martin’s  wife,  and  quite  recently  he  had  the 
pleasure  of  again  seeing  Mrs.  Mitchel  Martin  in  London. 
She  is  a lady  very  highly  esteemed  and  honoured  by 
large  circles  of  acquaintances,  all  of  whom  are  con- 
versant with  the  disinterested  patriotism  and  sacrifices 
of  her  brother  and  husband.  Mrs.  Mitchel  has  a most 
interesting  and  historic  personality,  and  she  was  deeply 
affected  when,  courteously  complying  with  the  author’s 
request,  she  gave  him  some  particulars  concerning  the  two 
men  whose  names  will  ever  occupy  an  honoured  place 
in  Irish  history.  Some  years  ago  Mrs.  Mitchel  Martin 
made  a pilgrimage  to  Nant  Cottage,  near  Bothwell, 
Tasmania,  in  order  that  she  might  see  the  place  where 
her  husband  and  brother  had  lived  in  exiled  companion- 
ship. She  found  the  cottage  partially  in  an  advanced 
stage  of  dilapidation,  and  was  cautioned  against  going 
upstairs  because,  as  the  shepherd  occupant  of  the  lower 
portion  of  Nant  Cottage  informed  her,  “the  banisters 
have  been  carried  to  Ireland,”  thereby  implying  that 
they  had  been  taken  piece  by  piece  as  mementos. 

As  to  Win.  Smith  O’Brien  (whose  splendid  statue 
now  stands  on  the  Westmoreland  Street  end  of 
O’Connell  Bridge  in  Dublin),  Van  Diemen’s  Land  was 


JUST  IN  TIME 


45 


where  he  spent  many  years  in  exile.  For  their  connec- 
tion with  the  abortive  rising  at  Ballingarry,  Tipperary, 
in  1848,  Wm.  Smith  O'Brien,  Meagher,  MacManus,  and 
O’Donoghue  were  sentenced  to  death.  The  death 
sentence  was  commuted  to  transportation  for  life.  They 
were  sent  to  Van  Diemen's  Land  and  arrived  there  in 
the  Swift  about  the  same  time  that  Martin  and 
O'Doherty  also  reached  Hobart  Town  in  the  Elphin- 
stone.  All  except  Wm.  Smith  O'Brien  were  allowed  to 
live  at  large  there,  but  each  within  a limited  district, 
and  no  two  of  them  nearer  than  thirty  or  forty  miles. 
Each  was  required  to  promise  that  he  would  not  make 
use  of  his  liberty  under  these  conditions  to  effect  his 
escape.  O'Brien  refused  the  ticket-of-leave,  and  was 
therefore  sent  to  Maria  Island,  a penal  station  off 
the  coast,  where  he  was  subjected  to  most  rigorous, 
capricious  and  insolent  treatment  by  the  Comptroller- 
General  of  Convicts  and  his  subordinates.  The 
Deputy- Assistant  Comptroller  of  Convicts  was  none 
other  than  Balfe,  one  of  the  Government  informers  of 
1848,  and  once  an  ultra-revolutionary  member  of  the 
Irish  Confederation.  After  remaining  in  his  dungeon 
at  Maria  Island  until  his  health  became  quite  shattered, 
Mr.  O'Brien  was  persuaded  by  his  fellow-exiles  and 
others  to  accept  a ticket-of-leave,  and  he  went  to  reside 
at  New  Norfolk.  Terence  Bellew  MacManus  effected 
his  escape  to  America  in  1851.  Maria  Island,  Bothwell, 
Lake  Sorrell,  Campbelltown,  New  Norfolk,  and  other 
localities  in  Van  Diemen's  Land  possess  historical 
associations  of  a kind  which  make  them  specially 
interesting  to  Irish  travellers,  and  very  few  will  come 
away  without  visiting  them  because  of  their  close  con- 
nection with  those  who  figured  most  prominently  during 
the  troublous  times  of  '48. 


CHAPTER  VI 

EXTENSION  OF  SETTLEMENT— BUCKLEY  “ THE  WILD 
WHITE  MAN 

IT  will  be  convenient  at  this  stage  to  devote  a 
chapter  to  the  progress  and  extension  of  settlement 
not  only  in  New  South  Wales,  but  in  other  portions  of 
the  Australian  Continent.  In  the  parent  colony  in  the 
early  days,  notwithstanding  the  obstacles  already  re- 
ferred to,  settlement  was  carried  on  prosperously  under 
a system  of  freehold  grants  issued  on  nominal  terms. 
These  grants  were  surveyed,  and  grazing  privileges 
were  allowed  outside  these  surveyed  areas.  This 
system  was  superseded  and  one  of  sale  by  auction  set 
up  in  its  place.  The  growth  of  population,  the  increase 
of  stock,  and  the  desire  to  acquire  land  upon  free  con- 
ditions soon  led  to  the  transgression  of  the  official 
boundaries  of  settlement  and  to  the  unauthorised  occu- 
pation of  the  territories  beyond.  The  authorities,  on 
account  of  the  extensive  character  of  the  movement, 
were  obliged  to  give  it  official  recognition,  and  permits 
to  occupy  were  issued  on  payment  of  an  annual  fee  of 
;^^io.  After  this  system  had  been  tried  and  had  de- 
veloped unsatisfactory  results,  the  system  of  leases  was 
introduced,  and  a great  portion  of  the  Crown  lands  in 
occupation  is  so  held  up  to  this  date.  Of  course,  enormous 
areas  of  freehold  land  have  been  acquired  from  time  to 

46 


EXTENSION  OF  SETTLEMENT 


47 


time,  but  the  leasehold  system  still  holds  good  with 
regard  to  vast  tracts  devoted  to  purely  pastoral  pur- 
poses in  all  the  colonies.  These  tracts  are  generally 
known  as  the  back  blocks,  and  are  far  removed  from 
closely-settled  districts.  A great  spurt  was  given  to 
settlement  in  New  South  Wales  in  1815,  when  Governor 
Macquarie  built  a road  across  the  Blue  Mountains  and 
opened  up  a highway  for  the  squatters  on  the  now 
highly-cultivated  Bathurst  Plains  and  the  regions  north, 
south,  and  west  of  them.  Most  people  know  to  what  a 
vast  extent  wool  production  has  been  conducted  in 
Australia,  but  few  are  aware  of  the  small  beginnings 
from  which  this  great  staple  industry  originated.  It 
was  an  officer  named  Macarthur  who  started  wool- 
growing at  Camden,  during  Governor  King's  term  of 
office,  with  a couple  of  Spanish  merino  sheep  presented 
to  him  by  George  III.  about  1803.  Wine  production  is 
another  industry  in  Australia  which  has  attained  huge 
proportions,  and  it  is  interesting  to  know  that  the  first 
grape  vines  in  that  Continent  were  planted  at  Parra- 
matta in  1791. 

The  first  quarter  of  a century  was  noted  for  the  ex- 
plorations of  such  men  as  Oxley,  Cunningham,  Hume, 
Howell,  Sturt,  Macleay,  and  Mitchell,  and  the  accounts 
they  published  of  their  discoveries  in  the  interior  were  a 
great  incentive  to  colonising  enterprise.  In  1802  Port 
Phillip  was  discovered  by  Lieutenant  Murray,  and  in 
the  following  year  Mr.  Grimes,  the  Surveyor-General 
of  New  South  Wales,  sailed  up  the  Yarra.  This  was 
probably  the  first  trip  made  up  that  river  by  any  white 
man,  and  thirty-three  years  elapsed  before  the  second 
white  man  penetrated  as  far  as  the  site  upon  which  the 
city  of  Melbourne  now  stands.  Shortly  after  Murray's 
discovery  of  Port  Phillip  there  sailed  from  England  a 
youth,  who  was  afterwards  to  be  known  as  the  ‘‘  father 
of  the  colony  of  Victoria,"  John  Pascoe  Fawkner.  Born 


48 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


in  London  in  1792,  Fawkner  sailed  with  his  parents  for 
the  distant  colonies  in  1803,  arrived  at  Port  Phillip 
in  October  of  the  same  year.  Not  satisfied  with  their 
prospects  in  that  then  outlandish  neighbourhood, 
Fawkner  and  his  parents  migrated  to  Van  Diemen's 
Land,  where  he  entered  into  business,  and  in  1829 
started  the  Launceston  Advertiser,  In  1835  Fawkner 
and  others  set  out  from  Hobart  Town  to  Port  Phillip, 
and  on  the  29th  July  of  that  year  they  carried  their 
vessel  up  the  Yarra  and  tied  her  to  the  tea-tree  growing 
on  the  banks  of  the  river.  The  part  of  the  river  they 
came  to  is  where  the  Queen's  wharf  now  stands,  and 
Fawkner  so  became  the  founder  of  Melbourne.  In 
1838  Fawkner  started  the  first  written  newspaper  in 
that  place,  and  in  1839  he  commenced  the  Port  Phillip 
Patriot^  which  he  afterwards  made  into  a daily  paper. 
But  Fawkner  was  not  the  pioneer  of  journalism  either 
in  Van  Diemen's  Land  or  Australia,  because  the  first 
newspaper  published  was  the  Sydney  Gazette  and  New 
South  Wales  Advertiser^  printed  by  George  Howe,  and 
issued  for  the  first  time  on  the  5th  of  March,  1803.  It 
ceased  publication  on  December  23,  1843. 

Diemen's  Land  the  first  newspaper  was  the  Derwent 
Star,  published  on  the  8th  of  January,  1810,  and 
P'awkner  was  in  no  way  connected  with  the  issue  of 
that  publication.  Neither  was  he  the  pioneer  settler 
of  Victoria,  for  in  1834  the  initial  attempt  at  settlement 
was  made  by  the  Hentys,  of  Launceston,  who  estab- 
lished a wool  station  at  Portland  Bay.  In  the  year 
following,  John  Batman  formed  a settlement  on  the 
western  shore  of  Port  Phillip,  and  Melbourne  practically 
commenced  its  existence  from  that  date.  Batman,  who 
was  born  in  1800  at  Parramatta,  New  South  Wales, 
went  to  Van  Diemen's  Land  in  1820,  at  a time  when 
what  was  described  as  “ active  warfare " was  going  on 
between  the  colonists  and  the  natives.  Proceeding  to 


EXTENSION  OF  SETTLEMENT 


49 


Victoria  in  1835,  he  purchased  600,000  acres  of  land 
from  the  natives.  For  this  enormous  area  he  delivered 
over  in  payment  to  the  eight  chiefs  who  possessed  the 
whole  of  the  territory  near  Port  Phillip,  20  pairs  of 
blankets,  30  knives,  10  looking-glasses,  12  tomahawks, 
some  beads,  12  pairs  of  scissors,  50  lbs.  of  flour,  50 
handkerchiefs,  12  red  shirts,  4 flannel  jackets,  and  4 suits 
of  clothes.  The  chiefs  were  satisfied  with  the  transaction, 
and  no  doubt  Batman  was  equally  pleased. 

Although  it  is  generally  conceded  that  John  Pascoe 
Fawkner  was  the  father  of  the  city  of  Melbourne,  it 
is  not  correct  to  designate  him  ‘'the  founder  of  the 
colony  of  Victoria,”  because  he  was  only  eleven  years 
old  when  he  first  set  foot  upon  the  shores  of  Port 
Phillip  towards  the  end  of  1803,  and  remained  there 
only  a few  months.  Others  had  been  there  before  him, 
and  in  the  year  prior  to  taking  up  his  location  on  the 
banks  of  the  Yarra,  facing  Emerald  Hill  (now  known 
as  South  Melbourne),  the  Hentys  had  established 
themselves  at  Portland  Bay.  Batman  also  settled  on 
the  shores  of  Port  Phillip  in  the  same  year  that  Fawkner 
sailed  up  the  Yarra,  and  had  possessed  himself  of  an 
enormous  tract  of  land  for  the  ridiculous  price  already 
stated,  and  the  stipulation  that  he  was  to  give  the  chiefs 
an  annual  tribute  in  the  shape  of  rent.  This  rent  or 
tribute  was  to  consist  of  50  pairs  of  blankets,  50 
knives,  50  tomahawks,  50  pairs  of  scissors,  50  looking- 
glasses,  20  suits  of  slops  or  clothing,  and  two  tons  of 
flour.  The  agreement  was  drawn  up  in  legal  phrase- 
ology, and  was  signed  with  their  marks  by  the  three 
principal  chiefs,  who  were  brothers,  all  rejoicing  in  the 
name  of  Jagajaga,  and  the  other  chiefs  calling  them- 
selves Cooloolook,  Bungarie,  Yanyan,  Moowhip,  and 
Moomarmalar,  as  well  as  by  Batman  and  the  two 
witnesses  he  brought  with  him  for  that  purpose,  and 
to  assist  with  others  of  the  party  in  the  exploration  of 

5 


50 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


the  country  surrounding  the  site  upon  which  Melbourne 
now  stands. 

Ignorant  upon  the  subject  of  the  real  value  of  what 
they  bartered  away  in  this  fashion,  the  natives,  always 
a tractable  and  inoffensive  race  when  treated  with 
kindness,  made  numerous  concessions  of  a similar 
character  to  numbers  of  the  first  settlers  in  Australia, 
and  it  was  because  of  their  docility  that  they  were  even- 
tually deprived  of  the  whole  of  their  possessions,  in 
accordance  with — 

^^The  good  old  rule,  the  simple  plan, 

That  he  shall  take  who  has  the  power, 

And  he  shall  keep  who  can.” 

The  early  records  show  that  Fawkner  and  Batman  were 
not  upon  very  amiable  terms  with  each  other,  and 
possibly  it  is  due  to  their  rival  claims  to  the  distinction 
that  their  respective  champions  compromised  matters 
by  recognising  Fawkner  as  “ the  founder  of  Melbourne,” 
and  Batman  as  “ the  founder  of  Victoria.”  The  latter 
died  in  May,  1840,  but  Fawkner  Ijved  till  the  4th  of 
September,  1869,  after  holding  many  public  offices, 
including  membership  of  the  Legislative  Council. 

The  settlement  of  Victoria  was  begun  under  better 
auspices  than  most  of  the  other  colonies  on  the 
Australian  Continent.  It  was  the  only  one  amongst 
them,  except  South  Australia,  which  escaped  the  taint 
of  convictism.  No  penal  establishment  was  ever  formed 
there  for  the  reception  of  criminals  transported  either 
direct  from  England  or  from  the  adjoining  colony  of 
New  South  Wales,  but  the  colony  only  escaped  this 
contamination  because,  curiously  enough.  Port  Phillip 
was  considered  unfit  for  habitation. 

When  Captain  Collins  arrived  at  Port  Phillip  in  1803 
with  a batch  of  convicts  his  intention  was  to  establish 
a penal  settlement  on  the  shores  of  the  Bay,  but  he 


EXTENSION  OF  SETTLEMENT  51 

entertained  such  an  unfavourable  opinion  of  the 
locality  that  he  abandoned  the  idea  and  took  them 
on  to  the  Derwent  in  Van  Diemen's  Land.  It  was 
a fortunate  thing  that  this  early  opinion  was  formed 
of  it,  as  otherwise  convicts  would  have  been  sent 
there  as  readily  as  to  other  parts  of  Australia  and 
to  Van  Diemen's  Land.  The  settlers,  pioneered  by 
the  Hentys,  Batman,  and  Fawkner,  soon  proved  how 
erroneous  the  impression  was,  and  its  removal  exposed 
Victoria  to  the  danger  from  which  it  had  already 
escaped,  because  it  remained  under  the  administration 
of  New  South  Wales  until  1851,  when  Victoria  became 
a separate  colony  with  a Government  of  its  own, 
and  Mr.  Latrobe  as  its  first  Governor.  Some  years 
previously  it  was  decided  by  the  Home  Govern- 
ment to  scatter  its  convicts  over  several  of  the  colonies 
and  not  confine  transportation  solely  to  Van  Diemen's 
Land  and  Western  Australia,  but  the  settlers  of  Victoria 
made  a strong  resistance  to  the  scheme.  It  was 
attempted,  however,  but  public  opinion  was  so  strong 
against  it  that  when  the  ship  Randolph  appeared  at 
Port  Phillip  Heads  with  convicts  on  board  the  captain 
was  forbidden  to  enter.  In  Sydney,  where  the  vessel 
next  sailed  to,  the  same  opposition  was  offered,  for  by 
this  time  the  colonists  of  New  South  Wales  were  quite 
as  determined  as  their  Victorian  neighbours  to  exclude 
any  more  shipments  of  the  kind,  and  the  upshot  was 
that  Western  Australia  had  to  take  them  in. 

The  original  plan  of  settlement  adopted  in  New 
South  Wales  was  applied  to  all  other  portions  of 
Australia  except  Victoria  and  South  Australia,  and 
they  remained  for  many  years  nothing  more  nor  less 
than  huge  penal  establishments.  They  offered  little 
attraction  to  free  men,  and  the  consequence  was  to 
impede  anything  in  the  shape  of  real  bond  fide  settle- 
ment. Cook  had  sailed  up  Moreton  Bay  in  1770,  but  it 


52 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


was  not  until  1823  that  it  became  a convict  station. 
Moreton  Bay  continued  to  receive  regular  batches  of 
convicts  until  1841,  when  transportation  to  that  part  of 
Australia  ceased,  and  immediately  afterwards  the  colony 
made  rapid  progress.  Separation  from  New  South 
Wales  was  urged  with  such  successful  persistence 
that  in  1859  Moreton  Bay  became  Queensland,  with  a 
Government  of  its  own.  Sir  George  Bowen  had  the 
honour  to  be  its  first  Governor  under  a constitution 
which  conferred  upon  it  all  the  rights  and  privileges 
of  self-government.  From  that  moment  a new  and 
vigorous  life  was  imparted  to  Queensland.  Settlement 
extended  in  all  directions,  and  emigrants  poured  in  by 
thousands  under  the  liberal  conditions  which  invited 
them  to  her  shores. 

The  settlement  of  South  Australia  dates  from  1836. 
Captain  John  Hindmarsh,  R.N.,  arrived  in  December  of 
that  year  with  a considerable  number  of  free  emigrants 
and  entered  into  formal  possession  of  the  colony  as  its 
first  Governor.  The  conception  of  settling  this  portion 
of  Australia  upon  a totally  different  basis  from  that  upon 
which  New  South  Wales,  Van  Diemen’s  Land,  and 
Western  Australia  were  founded,  originated  with  Mr. 
Edward  Gibbon  Wakefield,  who,  in  later  years,  played 
the  most  prominent  part  in  the  systematic  colonisation 
of  New  Zealand.  His  project  for  the  settlement  of 
South  Australia  was  given  effect  to  by  associations 
formed  for  the  purpose,  and  a constitution  was  granted 
to  it  under  which  no  convict  could  set  foot  upon  its 
shores.  Another  most  important  feature  of  the  con- 
stitution was  that  the  land  was  to  be  sold  at  a fixed 
price,  and  the  revenue  accruing  from  its  sale  applied  to 
the  introduction  of  labour  by  gratuitous  transport.  As 
far  as  possible,  adults  of  both  sexes  in  equal  proportions, 
their  ages  not  exceeding  thirty  years,  were  brought  out 
from  Great  Britain,  and  the  South  Australian  Associa- 


EXTENSION  OF  SETTLEMENT 


53 


tion  subsequently  extended  its  scheme  of  emigration  by 
accepting  a batch  of  very  desirable  people  from  Germany. 
This  accounts  for  the  great  number  of  Germans  who  are 
to  be  found  in  South  Australia  at  the  present  day,  and 
a splendid  class  of  colonists  they  have  proved  them- 
selves. In  deciding  that  the  land  was  to  be  sold  at  a 
fixed  price,  the  South  Australian  Association  followed  a 
very  wise  course.  They  had  in  their  minds  the  great 
abuses  which  had  happened  with  regard  to  the  land 
question  in  New  South  Wales  and  elsewhere,  under 
which  the  relatives  and  proteges  of  English  Cabinet 
Ministers  and  Colonial  officials  were  allowed  to  monopo- 
lise extensive  areas  without  paying  much,  and  sometimes 
nothing,  for  them.  Therefore,  all  land  in  South 
Australia  was  to  be  sold  at  the  fixed  price  of  ;£’i  an 
acre,  afterwards  reduced  to  twelve  shillings,  and  again 
restored  to  the  original  figure.  Under  this  liberal  land 
system,  free  emigration  and  the  absolute  exclusion  of 
convict  contamination,  the  settlement  of  South  Aus- 
tralia progressed  with  great  rapidity.  There  was  the 
further  incentive  to  progress  that,  under  its  constitution. 
South  Australia  could  claim  the  government  of  its  own 
affairs  as  soon  as  its  population  reached  10,000. 

Western  Australia  was  founded  as  a convict  settle- 
ment in  1825,  and  it  continued  the  system  years  after 
all  the  other  colonies  established  under  the  same  baneful 
influences  had  put  an  end  to  it.  Curiously  enough,  it 
was  the  one  colony  that  desired  convict  labour,  and  in 
1850  the  colonists  of  Western  Australia  actually  for- 
warded a petition  to  the  British  Government  requesting 
it  to  make  Swan  River  a convict  settlement.  The 
Home  authorities  readily  acceded  to  their  request,  and 
during  the  ensuing  eighteen  years  sent  out  no  less  than 
10,000  convicts.  In  1868,  however,  in  deference  to  the 
unanimous  wish  of  the  whole  of  Australia,  transportation 
from  England  to  Western  Australia  was  stopped.  Until 


54 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


this  was  done  the  colony  made  no  material  progress. 
Indeed,  it  remained  far  behind  any  of  the  other  colonies 
both  in  respect  to  increase  of  population  and  expansion 
of  settlement ; and  different  climatic  conditions  and  the 
non-discovery  of  gold  within  its  boundaries,  until  recent 
years,  do  not  entirely  account  for  the  stagnation  which 
prevailed  in  Western  Australia  prior  to  the  stoppage  of 
the  convict  system. 

There  are  few  students  of  Australian  history  who  are 
not  familiar  with  the  story  of  William  Buckley,  “ the 
wild  white  man  of  the  Australian  Bush,'’  whose  career 
was  a most  adventurous  and  romantic  one.  When 
Captain  Collins  called  at  Port  Phillip  in  1803  found  a 
penal  settlement  there,  Buckley  was  one  of  the  convicts 
on  board  the  fleet.  Accounts  differ  as  to  the  reason  of 
his  transportation.  It  is  stated  that  theft  was  the  cause 
of  his  conviction,  whilst  another  version  is  that  he  had 
been  put  on  his  trial  for  complicity  in  the  plot  amongst 
the  soldiers  at  Gibraltar  to  take  the  Duke  of  Kent’s 
life.  What  he  was  transported  for,  however,  is  of  no 
importance.  On  the  arrival  of  the  convict  ships  at 
Port  Phillip,  Buckley  and  several  others  saw  a chance  to 
escape  and  took  it.  They  were  never  seen  afterwards 
by  any  one  on  board,  and  if  they  reached  the  shore 
they  had  evidently  gone  into  the  bush.  Pursuit  of  them 
was  out  of  the  question.  Captain  Collins  made  up  his 
mind  to  abandon  the  idea  of  forming  a penal  settlement 
there,  and  sailed  from  the  place  two  days  afterwards, 
leaving  Buckley  and  his  companions  to  their  fate.  There 
is  no  record  of  what  became  of  Buckley’s  companions  ; 
they  must  either  have  been  drowned  whilst  escaping, 
were  murdered  by  the  blacks,  or  died  from  natural 
causes  as  years  rolled  on.  As  to  Buckley  himself,  he 
penetrated  the  woods  and  met  with  a tribe  of  blacks 
shortly  after  the  departure  of  the  convict  ships.  They 
treated  him  in  the  most  friendly  way,  and  he  became 


EXTENSION  OF  SETTLEMENT 


55 


one  of  themselves.  He  adopted  all  their  habits  and 
customs  and  lived  the  same  savage  and  nomadic  life. 
For  thirty-two  years  he  was  constantly  with  the 
aborigines ; in  fact,  he  became  nothing  more  nor  less 
than  a savage  in  all  respects,  and  when  he  disclosed 
himself  to  the  first  white  settlers  who,  in  1835,  took  up  a 
permanent  location  017  the  shores  of  Port  Phillip  he  was 
naked  like  the  blacks  themselves,  with  spear,  boomerang 
and  all  the  rest  of  the  wild  man’s  accoutrements.  Soon 
after  joining  the  tribe  the  savages  made  him  a chief — 
his  fine  physical  proportions  evidently  impressed  them 
— and  at  once  he  became  possessed  of  the  usual  number 
of  ‘‘  gins  ” allotted,  as  a matter  of  course,  to  one  in  his 
position  and  authority.  They  liked  Buckley  and  feared 
him,  too,  and  he  exercised  a powerful  control  over  his 
own  tribe  and  others  in  the  surrounding  country.  It 
was  a startling  revelation  to  the  whites  when  first  he 
presented  himself.  Tanned  brown  though  he  was  by 
constant  exposure,  the  outlines  of  his  features  showed 
that  he  did  not  belong  to  the  same  race  as  the  blacks. 
Closer  examination  convinced  them  that  he  was  a 
European,  but  when  they  spoke  to  him  he  did  not  under- 
stand what  they  said  and  uttered  words  which  to  them 
were  equally  incomprehensible.  Extraordinary  as  it 
may  appear,  Buckley  had  absolutely  forgotten  his  own 
language,  and  it  was  some  time  before  it  came  back  to 
him  after  his  return  to  civilisation.  Then  the  early 
settlers  found  him  most  useful  to  them  as  an  interpreter. 
He  stayed  at  Port  Phillip  for  some  time,  and  then  went 
to  Hobart  Town,  where  he  died  in  1856.  He  was  about 
twenty-three  years  old  when  he  escaped  from  the  convict 
vessel  and  went  to  live  amongst  the  savages. 

The  fact  of  Buckley  forgetting  his  own  language 
recalls  to  mind  the  Tichborne  cause  celebre.  During  the 
trial  of  that  case  it  was  contended  as  one  of  the  points 
proving  the  imposture  attempted  by  the  burly  claimant 


56 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


from  Wagga  Wagga  that,  as  he  could  not  speak  or  write 
French,  and  the  real  Sir  Roger  could  do  both  fluently, 
therefore  the  claimant  could  not  be  Sir  Roger.  Had 
Dr.  Kenealy  known  Buckley’s  history,  he  might  have 
argued  that  inability  on  the  part  of  his  client  to  speak 
or  write  French  proved  nothing  against  him  ; for  here 
was  an  instance  where  a man  had  actually  forgotten  his 
mother  tongue,  and  not  an  acquired  language. 


CHAPTER  VII 

WHAT  HAPPENED  UNDER  THE  TRANSPORTATION 
SYSTEM 

IT  must  not  be  supposed  that  all  the  thousands  of 
men  and  women  who  were  transported  to  Australia 
and  Van  Diemen’s  Land  were  sent  there  because  they 
had  been  convicted  of  the  most  heinous  crimes.  Many 
there  were  amongst  them,  it  is  true,  who  had  been  guilty 
of  the  highest  offences  known  to  the  criminal  law,  and 
upon  whom  death  sentences  had  been  passed  which,  on 
account  of  certain  extenuating  circumstances,  were  after- 
wards commuted  to  penal  servitude  for  life,  or  for  a term 
of  years  long  enough  to  give  little  hope  that  their  libera- 
tion, if  it  ever  should  come,  would  be  of  much  use  to 
them  in  advanced  age  and  infirmity.  The  prospect  for 
these  offenders  was  one  of  perpetual  gloom,  in  chains 
and  prison  cells  for  the  remainder  of  their  existence,  far 
away  from  every  one  belonging  to  them.  They  felt  that 
they  were  consigned  to  a living  tomb,  and  it  was  upon 
this  account  that  transportation  had  worse  terrors  for 
many  of  them  than  death  itself.  They  abandoned 
themselves  to  despair,  and  their  misery  was  intensified 
once  they  found  themselves  on  board  a convict  ship 
bound  for  southern  seas. 

There  was  nothing  whatever  in  the  convict  system 
of  olden  times  which  was  calculated  to  exercise  a 

57 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


5^ 

reforming  influence  upon  those  who  became  subject 
to  its  rigorous  and  unhumanising  application.  Their 
transit  from  England  to  the  penal  establishments  of 
Australia  and  Van  Diemen’s  Land,  protracted  in  those 
days  for  many  long  months,  was  a period  of  un- 
speakable misery  and  wretchedness.  Huddled  together 
in  numbers  out  of  all  proportion  to  the  available 
accommodation,  and  chained  and  manacled  as  so 
many  wild  beasts  might  be  in  a travelling  menagerie, 
these  convicts  endured  tortures  and  agonies  which  it 
would  be  impossible  to  exaggerate.  They  could  not 
look  to  their  jailors  for  one  gleam  of  sympathy  or 
commiseration,  because,  as  a rule,  men  were  chosen  to 
guard  them  who  were  brutal  by  nature,  and  did  not 
hesitate  to  enforce  a system  of  discipline  and  punish- 
ments which  not  only  aroused  all  the  worst  passions  of 
the  convicts,  but  brutalised  them  and  made  them  despe- 
rate. It  is  not,  therefore,  to  be  wondered  at  that  during 
these  voyages  many  of  the  convicts  availed  themselves 
of  the  first  opportunity  that  presented  itself  to  revenge 
themselves  upon  their  goading  and  merciless  guards. 
Murders  were  by  no  means  uncommon  occurrences,  and 
many  of  these  convict  ships  were  nothing  more  nor  less 
than  floating  hells.  Revolting  against  the  systematic 
cruelties  they  were  subjected  to,  it  sometimes  happened 
that  the  convicts  obtained  the  mastery  and  used  their 
short-lived  power  with  unsparing  vengeance  before  they 
could  be  subdued.  It  was,  of  course,  all  the  worse  for 
them  in  the  long  run  ; but  they  could  not  restrain  their 
passions  when  the  moment  for  individual  or  preconcerted 
retaliation  arrived.  These  periodical  outbreaks,  however, 
made  their  condition  less  endurable  than  ever,  and  their 
experiences  on  the  convict  ship,  bitter  as  they  might  be, 
were  as  nothing  compared  with  the  barbarous  treatment 
that  was  in  store  for  them  at  the  penal  stations  to  which 
they  were  afterwards  consigned. 


THE  TRANSPORTATION  SYSTEM 


59 


No  greater  mistake  could  have  been  made  than  to 
carry  on  a system  of  transportation  according  to  the 
plan  upon  which  it  was  originally  conducted.  Punish- 
ment instead  of  reformation  was  the  one  thing  aimed  at 
by  the  administrators  of  the  criminal  establishments  in 
those  days,  and  the  moral  regeneration  of  the  convict 
was  not  attempted.  Under  a more  enlightened  system, 
the  good  work  that  might  have  been  accomplished  on 
board  these  convict  ships  would  have  been  fruitful  of 
the  best  results,  not  alone  upon  the  convicts  them- 
selves, but  upon  the  social  conditions  of  the  colonies 
years  afterwards.  As  it  was,  the  average  long-term 
convict  disembarked  a more  irreclaimable  and  desperate 
man  than  he  was  at  the  time  of  his  embarkation  at 
an  English  port. 

The  class  of  vessel  provided  for  the  conveyance  of 
these  convicts  from  England  to  her  penal  colonies  in 
the  Southern  Pacific  fell  far  short  of  actual  requirements. 
These  vessels  were,  as  a rule,  of  small  tonnage.  A large 
amount  of  the  available  space  was  required  for  the  ship’s 
officers  and  those  officers  also  who  were  in  charge  of  the 
soldiers  who  were  there  to  keep  watch  over  the  convicts 
and  guard  against  mutiny  and  escape.  These  soldiers 
and  guards  had  to  be  accommodated  between  decks,  and 
they,  too,  were  very  often  miserably  provided  for.  Heavily 
chained,  the  convicts  were  packed  below  the  main  hatch- 
way without  any  regard  whatever  to  the  cubic  air-space 
essential  to  healthy  conditions.  This  marine  prison 
extended  from  one  side  of  the  vessel  to  the  other. 
The  partitions  at  each  end  were  loopholecj,  so  that  the 
convicts,  in  any  attempt  to  overpower  their  guards, 
might  be  placed  between  two  fires  below,  and  the 
arrangements  were  such  also  that,  if  extreme  measures 
of  the  kind  were  necessary,  the  whole  compartment 
could  be  swept  with  grape-shot  from  end  to  end.  Then, 
from  the  deck  above,  the  prison  could  be  fired  into  at 


6o 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


various  points,  and  guards  were  constantly  on  duty  at 
the  top  and  bottom  of  the  ladder  leading  to  the  deck. 
All  these  precautions  were  necessary,  of  course,  but, 
complete  as  they  were,  and  strict  as  the  discipline 
amongst  the  guards  and  soldiers  undoubtedly  was,  there 
were  occasions  upon  which  serious  attempts  were  made 
to  overpower  the  guards  and  take  possession  of  the 
vessel.  Occasionally  plots  of  this  description  were 
disclosed  by  some  of  the  convicts  themselves  before 
they  could  be  put  into  execution,  but  in  some  instances 
the  guards  were  surprised  and  the  mutiny  came  perilously 
near  a successful  termination  before  the  mutineers  could 
be  subdued — not,  however,  before  some  of  them  had  lost 
their  lives,  as  well  as  two  or  three  of  the  guards  and 
soldiers  also.  These  mutinies  might  easily  have  been 
averted  if  better  treatment  had  been  accorded  to  the 
convicts.  But  they  were  treated  more  like  dogs  than 
human  beings ; the  cruelties  inflicted  upon  them,  even 
for  the  smallest  breach  of  regulations,  were  greater  than 
can  be  conceived  nowadays,  and  they  were  threatened 
with  punishments  upon  arrival  in  Australia  or  Van 
Diemen's  Land  which  prompted  them  to  conspire 
against  their  jailors  and  attempt  the  seizure  of  the 
vessel,  in  order  that  they  might  effect  their  escape  to 
some  foreign  land.  The  barbarity  of  their  guards  was 
such  that,  failing  in  their  preconcerted  mutiny,  they 
would  gladly  welcome  death  as  a release  from  a con- 
tinuance of  the  misery  they  endured.  As  a matter  of 
fact,  some  of  them  took  their  own  lives  before  reaching 
their  destination  because  life  in  these  floating  prison 
hells  had  become  intolerable  to  them.  Others  lost  their 
reason,  and,  if  they  survived  the  passage,  were  incurable 
lunatics  for  the  remainder  of  their  existence. 

It  was  in  the  tropics  that  these  convict  ships  passed 
through  their  most  terrible  experiences.  Very  fre- 
quently tliey  were  becalmed  for  weeks  at  a stretch. 


THE  TRANSPORTATION  SYSTEM 


6i 


The  sun’s  rays  pouring  down  upon  the  vessel  with  great 
fierceness  day  after  day  made  the  prison  between  decks 
a place  fearful  to  contemplate.  Insufficient  to  accom- 
modate half  its  number  of  occupants,  the  stench  became 
abominable,  without  any  adequate  means  being  taken 
to  improve  it.  The  condition  of  things  grew  rapidly 
from  bad  to  worse,  and  fevers  and  other  contagious 
diseases  broke  out  and  terrorised  every  one.  Whilst 
convicts  stricken  down  raved  in  their  delirium,  those 
who  were  not  yet  victims  heaped  imprecations  upon  the 
Government,  upon  the  ship,  and  upon  every  one  who 
was  responsible  for  what  had  happened  through  over- 
crowding and  the  absence  of  proper  sanitary  pre- 
cautions. What  with  the  ravings  of  the  stricken,  and 
the  blasphemies  and  profanities  of  that  heterogeneous 
mass  of  criminality  confined  within  such  narrow  limits, 
it  would  be  difficult  to  describe  the  shocking  reality  of 
the  situation  when  a convict  ship,  overtaken  by  a 
terrible  epidemic,  had  the  misfortune  to  lie  becalmed 
for  any  length  of  time  under  a scorching  tropical  sun. 
Yet  that  was  the  fate  of  more  than  one  vessel  of  the 
kind,  and  then  it  was  that  a mutiny  of  the  convicts  was 
most  to  be  feared.  There  was  always  present  the 
danger  of  the  contagion  spreading  to  those  in  command 
and  the  crews,  soldiers,  and  guards,  under  their  control, 
and  it  is  easy  to  conceive  the  dreadful  sensations  and 
apprehensions  that  an  outbreak  of  disease  gave  rise  to. 
Even  under  circumstances  like  these,  the  brutal  treat- 
ment of  the  convicts  went  on  without  appreciable  abate- 
ment, and  the  wonder  is  that  the  transportation  system 
was  not  responsible  for  even  greater  calamities  than  it 
produced,  and  those  that  happened  were  by  no  means 
inconsiderable.  Imagine  in  these  more  enlightened 
times  a system  under  which  there  was  no  pretence 
at  classification.  The  blood-stained  murderer  and  the 
burglar,  who  would  have  been  equally  callous  of  the 


62 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


sacrifice  of  human  life  if  the  necessity  of  taking  it 
to  save  him  from  arrest  and  identification  presented 
itself  as  the  only  loophole  of  escape,  were  brought  into 
direct  contact,  night  and  day,  with  first-offenders  of 
recent  gentility  and  respectability,  who,  in  moments  of, 
to  them,  irresistible  temptation,  had  sacrificed  all  their 
prospects  by  one  fatal  deviation  from  honest  paths,  and 
abused  the  trust  reposed  in  them.  Still,  for  this  one 
departure  from  a hitherto  unblemished  record,  they 
found  themselves  on  board  a convict  ship  herding  con- 
stantly with  those  whose  whole  lives  constituted  an 
almost  uninterrupted  catalogue  of  crime,  graduating 
from  small  beginnings  as  juvenile  chevaliers  cT industrie 
in  Fleet  Street  to  daring  highwaymen  on  the  King's 
high-road,  and  ultimately  homicidal  burglars  of  the 
most  reckless  type.  Pickpockets  there  were,  too, 
amongst  the  company  who  had  never  progressed 
beyond  that  initial  stage  of  dishonesty  ; and  as  for 
forgers  and  embezzlers,  whose  reputations  had  been 
wrecked  by  a single  transgression,  they  were  quite  as 
numerous  as  any  other  class  of  offender  on  board  these 
convict  vessels.  Worse  still,  there  were  also  many 
young  fellows  who  had  been  sentenced  to  various  terms 
of  transportation  for  offences  which  ought  to  have  been 
summarily  disposed  of  if  the  authorities  of  the  period 
had  been  inspired  with  more  intelligent  ideas  about  the 
fitness  of  things  and  the  salutariness  of  reformatorial 
methods.  In  noway,  however,  were  punishments  made 
to  fit  the  crimes  of  lesser  magnitude  ; and,  no  classifica- 
tion being  attempted  on  board  these  convict  ships,  all 
were  huddled  together  indiscriminately.  The  less 
vicious  were  contaminated  by  the  more  hardened, 
and  became  willing  listeners  to  the  romantic  and  ex- 
aggerated  recital  of  their  exploits,  which  these  ex-high- 
waymen and  burglars  lost  no  opportunity  of  narrating 
to  their  juvenile  associates.  Before  very  long  the  effect 


THE  TRANSPORTATION  SYSTEM 


63 


of  this  enforced  companionship,  however  obnoxious  and 
disagreeable  it  might  have  been  at  the  commencement, 
manifested  itself  in  a way  to  demonstrate  plainly  enough 
that  a sort  of  criminal  fraternity  had  been  established 
amongst  all  who  came  under  the  common  designation 
of  ‘‘prisoners  of  the  Crown.”  With  an  all-absorbing 
interest  and  attention,  these  young  people  never  tired  of 
hearing  about  deeds  and  hairbreadth  escapes,  which 
were  oftentimes  mere  inventions ; gradually  they  came 
to  regard  the  narrators  as  heroes,  whose  past  exploits 
were  worthy  of  imitation  in  the  lands  which  were  to 
afford  such  ample  scope  for  their  criminal  enterprises. 
There  was  a degree  of  fascination  about  these  accounts 
of  daring  episodes  which  they  could  not  resist.  These 
sensational  stories  made  deep  impressions  on  their 
minds,  and  they  longed  for  the  time  to  come  when  they 
could  effect  their  escape  after  landing,  and  become 
highwaymen  themselves.  During  the  passage  out 
conspiracies  of  this  nature  were  formed  which  were 
afterwards  carried  into  successful  execution.  If  their 
treatment  on  board  was  but  the  avant-gout  of  what  was 
afterwards  in  store  for  them  during  a prolonged  period 
of  captivity,  then  they  must  liberate  themselves  at  all 
hazards  on  the  first  occasion  that  made  escape  possible, 
and  they  resolved  to  carry  out  their  object  at  all  risks. 
Thus  the  foundations  were  laid  of  what  was  afterwards 
to  be  known  as  bushranging,  so  called  because  the  con- 
victs who  effected  their  escape  from  the  penal  establish- 
ments took  to  the  woods,  or  “ bush,”  as  timbered  areas 
in  the  colonies  are  called,  to  prevent  recapture,  and 
carried  on  a career  of  highway  robbery  and  outrage  so 
replete  with  thrilling  and  tragic  situations  as  to  throw 
into  comparative  insignificance  the  adventures  of  Turpin, 
Robert  Macaire,  and  Claude  Duval.  But  the  subject  of 
bushranging  must  be  reserved  for  a later  chapter, 


CHAPTER  VIII 

FURTHER  REMARKS  UPON  TRANSPORTATION — GIBBET 
HILL — DISCONTINUANCE  OF  TRANSPORTATION 

Concurrently  with  the  scheme  for  ridding 
Great  Britain  of  large  numbers  of  its  very  worst  class 
of  criminals,  the  Government  also  resolved  to  experiment- 
alise upon  the  less  hardened  offenders,  young  men  and 
women  who  brought  themselves  within  the  operation  of 
the  transportation  laws  for  offences  comparatively  trivial 
— offences  which  a Bow  Street  magistrate  would  now 
consider  sufficiently  expiated  by  the  imposition  of  a 
few  days’  imprisonment.  Less  than  two  centuries 
earlier,  however,  crimes  of  the  same  nature,  trivial  as 
they  were,  would  have  been  considered  of  sufficient 
gravity  to  carry  the  death  penalty  upon  conviction.  In 
his  History  of  Halifax,  published  in  1775,  Watson  says 
that  a strange  old  law,  relinquished  in  1650,  known  as 
the  Halifax  Gibbet  Law,  was  enacted  here  at  the  early 
period  of  the  woollen  manufacture.  For  the  protection 
of  the  manufacturers  against  the  thievish  propensities 
of  persons  who  stole  the  cloth  when  stretched  all  night 
on  racks  or  wooden  frames  to  dry,  the  Gibbet  Law 
provided  that  all  persons  within  a certain  circuit  who 
had  stolen  property  of  or  above  the  value  of  I3^d.  were 
to  be  tried  by  the  I'rith  of  Burghers  within  the  Liberty, 
and  if  found  guilty  they  were  handed  over  to  the 

64 


FURTHER  REMARKS  UPON  TRANSPORTATION  65 

magistrate  for  punishment  and  were  executed  on  the 
first  market  day  following  by  means  of  an  instrument 
similar  to  the  guillotine. 

If  any  readers  of  this  volume  should  happen  to  visit 
Halifax,  in  Yorkshire,  they  will  see  a mound  on  Gibbet 
Hill  into  which  have  been  collected  the  remains  of  fifty- 
three  malefactors  who  suffered  decapitation  between  the 
years  1541  and  1650  for  offences  which  nowadays  would 
be  amply  punished  by  a few  hours’  detention  in  a police 
court  lock-up.  The  remains  of  the  Halifax  Gibbet 
within  the  enclosure  were  discovered  in  the  year  1840 
under  a mound  of  earth  known  as  the  Gibbet  Hill,  and 
were  enclosed  by  the  trustees  of  the  town.  The  public 
records  preserve  the  names  of  the  fifty-three  persons 
beheaded  on  this  spot  between  the  years  1541  and  1650. 
The  first  on  the  list  is  Richard  Bentley,  of  Sowerby, 
executed  March  20,  1541,  and  the  two  last  were  John 
Wilkinson  and  Anthony  Mitchell,  both  of  the  same 
township,  beheaded  April  30,  1650. 

In  the  Harleian  MS.  (British  Museum),  written  in  a 
sixteenth-century  hand,  the  following  description  of  the 
Halifax  Gibbet  is  given : “ There  is  and  hath  been  of 
ancient  time  a law  or  rather  a custom  at  Halifax  that 
whosoever  doth  commit  any  felony,  and  is  taken  with 
the  same  or  confess  the  fact,  upon  examination,  if  it  be 
valued  by  four  constables  to  amount  to  the  sum  of 
thirteen  pence  halfpenny,  he  is  forthwith  beheaded  upon 
the  next  market  day — which  usually  falls  upon  the 
Tuesdays,  Thursdays,  and  Saturdays — or  else  upon  the 
same  day  that  he  is  so  convicted,  if  market  be  then 
holden.  The  engine  wherewith  the  execution  is  done  is 
a square  block  of  wood  of  the  length  of  four  foot  and  a 
half,  which  doth  ride  up  and  down  in  a slot,  rabet  or 
regalt,  between  two  pieces  of  timber  that  are  framed  and 
set  upright,  of  five  yards  in  height.  In  the  nether  end 
of  the  sliding  block  is  an  axe  keyed  or  fastened  with 

6 


66 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


iron  into  the  wood,  which  being  drawn  up  to  the  top  of 
the  frame  is  there  fastened  with  a wooden  pin — the  one 
end  set  on  a piece  of  wood  which  goeth  cross  on  the 
two  rabets,  and  the  other  end  being  let  into  the  block 
holding  the  axe,  with  a notch  made  into  the  same,  after 
the  manner  of  a Sampson’s  post — unto  the  midst  of  which 
pin  there  is  a long  rope  fastened  that  cometh  down 
among  the  people,  so  that  when  the  offender  hath  made 
his  confession,  and  hath  laid  his  neck  over  the  nether- 
most block,  every  man  there  doth  either  take  hold  of 
the  rope,  or  putteth  his  arm  so  near  to  the  same  as  he 
can  get  in  token  that  he  is  willing  to  see  true  justice 
executed,  and  pulling  out  the  pin  in  this  manner,  the 
head  block  wherein  the  axe  is  fastened  doth  fall  down 
with  such  violence  that,  if  the  neck  of  the  transgressor 
were  so  big  as  that  of  a bull,  it  should  be  cut  in  sunder 
at  a stroke,  and  roll  from  the  body  by  an  huge  distance. 
If  it  be  so  that  the  offender  be  apprehended  for  an  ox 
or  oxen,  sheep,  kine,  or  horse,  or  any  such  cattle,  the 
self  beast,  or  other  of  the  same  kind,  hath  the  end  of 
the  rope  tied  somewhere  unto  them  so  that  they  draw 
out  the  the  pin  whereby  the  offender  is  executed.  And 
thus  much  of  Halifax  law,  which  I set  down  only  to 
show  the  custom  of  that  country  in  this  behalf.” 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  foregoing  account  that  the 
guillotine  was  no  new  thing,  and  that  the  French  doctor 
of  that  name  can  lay  no  claim  to  having  invented  the 
machine  two  centuries  later.  Probably  he  had  read  of 
the  Halifax  Gibbet,  and  improved  upon  it. 

The  public  records  show  the  nature  of  the  offences  for 
which  these  fifty-three  men  were  executed  on  Gibbet 
Hill,  Halifax,  between  the  years  1541  and  1650,  and 
there  is  one  amongst  the  number — the  last  of  them, 
if  the  author’s  memory  is  not  at  fault — who  lost  his 
head  for  stealing  a piece  of  cloth  of  the  value  of  nine- 
pence  ! Now,  the  law  provided  that  the  stolen  property 


FURTHER  REMARKS  UPON  TRANSPORTATION  67 


should  be  of  the  value  of  or  above  thirteen  pence  half- 
penny; but  evidently  there  was  no  legal  hair-splitting  in 
those  days,  because  the  fact  that  it  was  only  worth  nine- 
pence  did  not  prevent  decapitation.  What  cruel  times 
these  must  have  been,  to  be  sure,  and  what  a shocking 
fate  was  the  culprit’s  who  was  proved  to  have  com- 
mitted a petty  larceny  of  this  nature  ! The  Halifax 
Gibbet  is  mentioned  here  to  show  what  barbarous 
punishments  were  inflicted  far  into  the  seventeenth 
century. 

Whilst  the  degrees  of  punishment  were  modified  and 
reduced  as  time  went  on,  still  larceny  was  a trans- 
portable offence  when  the  penal  system  was  resorted  to 
in  New  South  Wales,  and  later  on  in  Van  Diemen’s 
Land,  Moreton  Bay,  and  Western  Australia.  Young 
men  and  women,  convicted  on  comparatively  minor 
charges,  were  sent  across  the  seas  by  thousands  for 
various  terms,  some  of  them  of  short  duration.  They 
had  the  hope  held  out  to  them  that  good  conduct  would 
ensure  their  liberation,  because  the  Government  wanted 
to  have  the  places  settled  by  a young  and  sturdy 
population  whose  labour  would  supply  the  requirements 
of  such  as  went  out  there  upon  their  own  account.  These 
young  convicts  were  not  irretrievably  vicious,  and  many 
of  them  gained  their  liberty  not  long  after  their  arrival, 
either  upon  the  completion  of  their  sentences  or  by  pro- 
curing tickets-of-leave  before  these  sentences  expired. 
By  good  conduct  also  some  of  the  long-term  criminals 
were  eventually  allowed  to  go  forth  as  “ assigned 
servants  ” on  condition  that  they  remained  within  a 
particular  district  and  reported  themselves  to  the  prison 
authorities  at  stated  intervals.  But  woe  betide  them  if 
they  were  ever  afterwards  guilty  of  transgressing  the 
laws  of  the  colony.  Some  of  these  liberh  relapsed  into 
crime,  and  the  severity  of  their  treatment  was  worse  than 
what  they  had  previously  endured  ; but  as  a rule  the 


68 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


ticket-of-leave  system  worked  tolerably  well.  The 
liberated  convicts  supplied  the  needs  of  the  labour 
market,  and  their  services  were  available  to  the  free 
settlers  at  rates  of  wages  far  below  what  would  have 
prevailed  had  the  settlement  been  founded  upon  free 
emigration  principles.  Low  as  the  wages  were,  how- 
ever, these  ticket-of-leave  men  saved  money.  Even- 
tually, they  were  able  to  send  home  for  their  relatives 
and  friends.  From  the  position  of  “assigned  servants 
they  gradually  became  their  own  masters,  secured 
holdings  which  by  hard  industry  they  were  enabled  to 
convert  into  profitable  grazing  and  agricultural  farms  ; 
some  of  them  took  to  trading  and  commercial  pursuits, 
and  prospered  as  they  never  could  have  done  in  England. 
They  even  owned  newspapers,  and  during  the  remainder 
of  their  lives  many  of  these  “ old  hands,’'  as  they  were 
called  in  whispers  to  indicate  to  the  uninitiated  what 
their  previous  career  had  been,  were  amongst  the 
wealthiest  and  most  influential  people  in  the  community. 
If  Barrington’s  couplet  could  be  applied  to  them — 

True  patriots  we,  for,  be  it  understood, 

We  left  our  country  for  our  country's  good  ” — 

they  had  the  satisfaction  of  knowing  that,  after  all, 
enforced  expatriation  had  proved  an  unlooked-for  bless- 
ing to  themselves,  for  there  they  were  surrounded  by  all 
the  comforts  and  luxuries  that  wealth  could  bring  them, 
their  past  history  condoned  by  unrestricted  social  inter- 
course with  those  to  whom  the  clang  of  prison  chains 
was  a sound  unknown,  and  the  flagellator’s  lash  an  unfelt 
mortification  and  torture. 

At  the  same  time,  it  must  be  admitted  that  the  ticket- 
of-leave  system  failed  as  a reforming  process  in  number- 
less instances.  It  let  loose  upon  early  Colonial  society 
large  numbers  of  men — and  women,  too — who  gave 


FURTHER  REMARKS  UPON  TRANSPORTATION  69 


infinite  trouble  to  the  authorities,  and  made  these  penal 
settlements  such  hotbeds  of  crime  and  immorality  that 
free  emigration  was  very  materially  hindered  for  many 
years.  Australia  and  Van  Diemen's  Land  were  looked 
upon  as  countries  which  it  was  very  undesirable  for 
decent,  law-abiding  people  to  go  to,  and  a long  period 
had  to  pass  before  the  stigma  was  removed.  Outrages 
of  the  most  diabolical  kinds  were  committed  not  only 
upon  free  settlers,  but  also  upon  the  helpless  and 
unoffending  natives,  who  were  shot  down  in  the  most 
ruthless  manner  by  these  hardened  criminals,  whose 
records  terrorised  the  community  and  rendered  life  and 
property  exceedingly  insecure.  It  was  a bad  beginning 
for  British  colonisation  in  those  distant  latitudes,  and  it 
was  mainly  because  of  the  infamous  reputation  thus 
attained  that  the  early  growth  of  those  far-off  posses- 
sions was  so  retarded.  The  penal  settlements  in  those 
days  offered  no  inducements  to  free  people  who  found 
opportunities  to  emigrate  elsewhere.  Their  social  con- 
ditions were  such  as  to  repel  settlement  rather  than 
attract  it,  and  the  consequence  was  that  for  very  many 
years  the  arrivals  of  convicts  far  exceeded  those  who 
went  out  there  with  the  object  of  founding  homes  for 
themselves  on  the  virgin  soil  of  Australia  and  Van 
Diemen's  Land.  In  communities  where  the  criminal  class 
so  largely  predominated,  it  may  be  safely  inferred  that 
their  social  conditions  were  not  of  a very  high  standard  ; 
and  if  the  predisposition  to  crime  may  be  regarded  as 
a hereditary  misfortune,  then  the  convict  system  of 
early  times  must  be  held  responsible  for  a large  propor- 
tion of  the  crimes  which  were  committed  in  Australia 
and  Van  Diemen's  Land  all  through  the  earlier  half  of 
the  last  century  and  for  years  after  the  abolition  of  that 
system.  If  the  theory  as  to  the  hereditary  transmission 
of  criminal  instincts  holds  good,  it  is  clear  that  the  taint  of 
convictism  made  itself  manifest  for  several  decades  after 


70 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


the  original  sources  of  contamination  were  wiped  out  in 
accordance  with  the  ordinary  laws  of  nature. 

It  would  be  unreasonable  to  suppose  that,  because 
Australian  colonisation  was  begun  under  auspices  so 
unfavourable,  therefore  nearly  the  whole  of  its  popu- 
lation to-day  has  sprung  from  convict  sources.  No 
idea  could  be  more  erroneous  ; it  certainly  prevails 
not  only  amongst  the  vulgar  and  uninformed  classes  of 
Great  Britain,  but  amongst  some  of  those  from  whose 
natural  intelligence  and  education  more  enlightened 
impressions  might  be  expected.  Since  his  arrival  in 
England  the  author  has  found  occasion  more  than  once 
to  set  people  right  upon  the  subject.  One  lady  even 
went  so  far  as  to  suppose  that  Australians  would  not 
care  to  be  questioned  too  closely  about  their  grand- 
fathers, thereby  insinuating  that  their  past  history  was 
necessarily  associated  with  convictism.  No  greater 
fallacy  could  exist ; but  it  certainly  existed  even  in  the 
mind  of  Lord  Beauchamp  when  he  went  to  Australia  a 
year  or  two  ago  to  assume  the  Governorship  of  New 
South  Wales.  In  one  of  his  earliest  speeches  after 
landing  his  Lordship  made  the  extraordinary  faux  pas 
of  declaring  that  the  people  of  New  South  Wales  had 
redeemed  the  faults  of  their  forefathers.  It  was  an 
unfortunate  slip  of  the  tongue,  and,  as  might  be  ex- 
pected, the  people  were  greatly  incensed  at  the  implica- 
tion that  they  were  all  the  descendants  of  those  who  had 
been  taken  to  the  Colony  free  of  charge,  accompanied 
by  strong  detachments  of  soldiery  and  gaol  officials  to 
see  that  they  were  safely  conveyed  to  their  destination. 
It  was  a regrettable  commencement  of  his  high  office, 
and  probably  accounts  for  the  fact  that  Lord  Beauchamp 
was  never  so  popular  as  many  of  his  predecessors, 
notably  Lord  Carrington, 

Even  in  earliest  times  many  good  families  of  Great 
Ih'itain  emigrated  to  Australia  and  Van  Diemen's  Land, 


FURTHER  REMARKS  UPON  TRANSPORTATION  71 


and  the  numbers  that  followed  them  increased  as  years 
rolled  on,  and  the  administration  of  law  and  justice  was 
established  upon  a more  solid  basis.  The  natural 
advantages  offered  in  the  land  of  their  adoption  were 
so  great  that  they  determined  to  become  permanent 
settlers.  Many  of  them  brought  capital  with  them 
which  they  invested  with  success,  and  their  descendants 
afterwards  reaped  great  benefits  from  the  colonising 
enterprise  of  their  parents.  Such  favourable  accounts 
were  sent  home  of  the  productiveness  of  these  lands  in 
the  far  South,  that  a steady  stream  of  emigration  to 
their  shores  at  last  set  in,  and  years  before  the  first  half 
of  the  century  had  closed  the  free  population  of  Aus- 
tralia and  Van  Diemen’s  Land  assumed  considerable 
proportions.  The  discovery  of  gold  in  1851,  however, 
proved  the  greatest  of  all  incentives  to  free  emigration — 
that  is,  the  influx  of  free  people — and  the  stream  was  so 
large  that  soon  the  convict  element  and  the  descendants 
of  convicts  were  placed  in  a vast  minority.  Gold- 
seeking was  the  precursor  to  permanent  settlement,  to 
the  occupation  of  vast  areas  of  country  which  had 
hitherto  remained  in  their  primitive  state,  and  such  a 
general  impetus  was  given  to  settlement  that  the  popu- 
lation of  Australia  is  considerably  over  four  millions 
to-day.  There  are  very  few  of  the  old  lags  ” left  to 
remind  one  of  the  days  of  convictism,  and  the  descen- 
dants of  these  people  are  infinitesimal  in  number  com- 
pared with  the  millions  who  have  no  reason  to  blush  at 
their  pedigrees.  What  absurd  nonsense,  therefore,  it  is 
to  say  that  Australians  do  not  care  to  talk  about  their 
grandfathers,  when  their  family  records  are  quite  as 
clean  and  irreproachable  as  the  genealogical  tracings  of 
those  who  so  ignorantly  calumniate  them  upon  the 
subject  of  their  descent. 

The  danger  to  the  national  life  which  was  likely  to 
spring  from  the  transportation  system  was  perceived  by 


72 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


the  free  settlers  of  Australia  long  before  the  tide  of  free 
emigration  and  legitimate  settlement  set  in  and  removed 
any  apprehensions  for  the  future  well-being  of  the 
colonies.  Years  prior  to  the  removal  of  that  danger, 
however,  the  trend  of  public  opinion  was  in  the  direction 
of  getting  rid  of  transportation  altogether,  and  a league 
was  ultimately  formed  with  that  object.  Still,  there  was 
a large  section  of  the  various  Colonial  communities  in 
favour  of  its  continuance.  They  preferred  it  because  it 
placed  at  their  disposal  hired  convict  labour  at  lower 
rates  of  remuneration  than  they  could  hope  for  if  this 
source  of  supply  were  stopped.  Therefore  they  were 
anti-abolitionists,  and  the  agitation  against  convictism 
encountered  much  strenuous  opposition  from  such 
employers  as  did  not  trouble  themselves  about  the 
antecedents  of  those  whom  they  took  into  their  service. 
One  of  these  employers,  writing  from  Van  Diemen’s 
Land  at  the  period  referred  to,  throws  light  upon  the 
question  at  issue  between  the  abolitionists  and  the  sup- 
porters of  transportation  by  referring  to  the  difficulty 
experienced  in  getting  freemen  to  work  at  the  rates  of 
pay  then  current  in  that  island.  These  are  his  words  : 

Freemen  find  so  many  ways  of  making  money  here 
that  they  will  not  take  service,  and  so  the  convicts — or, 
as  they  are  delicately  called,  the  prisoners — supply  all 
demands  of  this  nature,  and  if  the  histories  of  every 
house  were  made  public  you  would  shudder.  Even  in 
our  small  menage,  our  cook  has  committed  murder,  our 
footman  burglary,  and  our  housemaid  bigamy.”  The 
writer  might  have  gone  farther  and  stated  with  equal 
candour  and  outspokenness,  what  was  absolutely  true, 
namely,  that  one  effect  of  the  hiring  of  prisoner  servants 
at  lower  wages  than  the  free  men  who  were  available 
for  employment  were  willing  to  accept,  was  to  force 
hundreds  of  them  to  leave  the  Colony,  much  to  its  loss 
and  to  the  advantage  of  other  colonies  where  the  hiring 


FURTHER  REMARKS  UPON  TRANSPORTATION  73 


of  prisoners  did  not  prevail,  and  within  whose  boundaries 
even  ticket-of-leave  men  were  not  allowed  to  land  under 
laws  specially  passed  by  the  local  legislatures  with  that 
object,  notably  in  South  Australia,  Victoria,  and  New 
Zealand.  To  be  known  as  an  ex-convict  at  large  in 
these  colonies  subjected  him  to  arrest  and  deportation 
whence  he  came  ; but  often  persons  of  this  description 
escaped  detection  until  the  commission  of  some  offence 
disclosed  their  antecedents  to  the  authorities.  Those 
who  were  unknown,  and  did  nothing  to  bring  themselves 
again  within  the  meshes  of  the  criminal  law,  became 
peaceable,  orderly,  and  sometimes  prosperous  settlers  in 
the  exclusive  colonies  referred  to. 

The  movement  against  transportation  began  in  the 
late  thirties.  In  New  South  Wales  in  1839  a Par- 
liamentary Committee  recommended  its  cessation,  and 
a counter  agitation  was  immediately  begun  for  its  con- 
tinuance. The  supporters  of  this  agitation  were  for  the 
most  part  well-to-do  colonists  in  New  South  Wales, 
who  employed  a considerable  amount  of  labour,  and 
who  wished  for  the  continuance  of  the  system  in  order 
that  they  might  have  convicts  assigned  to  them  at  low 
rates  of  pay.  At  the  same  time  they  wanted  to  have 
their  own  burdens  of  taxation  reduced,  and  coolly  pro- 
posed that  the  colony  should  be  relieved  of  the  cost  of 
police  and  gaols  to  the  extent  of  one-half,  and  that  the 
British  Government  should  contribute  that  proportion. 
These  utterly  selfish  proposals  aroused  great  indigna- 
tion, the  result  being  that,  in  obedience  to  popular 
opinion,  the  report  of  the  Parliamentary  Committee  was 
given  effect  to  by  an  order  of  the  Queen  in  Council  in 
August,  1840,  that  no  more  convicts  were  to  be  sent 
to  New  South  Wales.  The  British  Government  still 
kept  pouring  them  into  Van  Diemen's  Land,  however, 
and  New  South  Wales  itself  was  threatened  once  more 
with  an  undesirable  influx  such  as  that  colony  had 


74 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


already  succeeded  in  putting  a stop  to.  It  was  con- 
sidered that  the  time  had  come  to  make  an  effort  to 
put  an  end  to  the  transportation  of  convicts  to  any  part 
of  Australasia  at  all ; the  feeling  entertained  by  the  aboli- 
tionists was  that  there  was  no  real  security  for  exemp- 
tion anywhere  so  long  as  the  system  was  maintained  in 
part,  and  the  efforts  of  the  colonists  were  now  directed 
towards  obtaining  the  complete  exclusion  of  convicts 
from  the  whole,  and  not  from  any  particular  portions 
only,  of  the  colonies.  This  they  were  unable  to  accom- 
plish for  many  years,  owing  to  the  attitude  of  the 
colonists  in  Western  Australia  ; but  the  immediate  out- 
come of  the  movement  was  to  stop  transportation 
to  any  other  part  of  the  continent  except  Western 
Australia,  and  later  on  to  Van  Diemen’s  Land  itself. 

The  question  of  capital  and  labour  was  thus  early 
associated  with  a movement  in  which  the  social, 
political,  and  moral  improvement  of  Australian  com- 
munities was  so  deeply  concerned.  Many  employers 
for  selfish  reasons  preferred  existing  conditions,  and 
did  their  best  to  render  the  agitation  abortive.  But 
there  were  others,  and  happily  they  were  in  a majority, 
who  placed  a greater  value  than  what  affected  them- 
selves personally  upon  the  future  good  name  of 
Australia,  and  the  patriotic  as  well  as  philanthropic 
motives  which  animated  them  ensured  the  eventual 
success  of  their  crusade  against  the  perpetuation  of  that 
great  stain  of  convictism  upon  the  national  life  and 
character  of  Australia  and  the  penal  island  adjacent  to  it 

What  brought  matters  to  a head  was  the  arrival  of  a 
vessel  in  Sydney  harbour,  in  the  June  of  1849,  having 
between  two  and  three  hundred  convicts  on  board. 
The  colonists  were  taken  by  surprise,  because  nine 
years  previously  the  British  Government  had  under- 
taken to  send  no  more  convicts  to  New  South  Wales 
and  other  colonies,  and  many  who  had  since  come  to 


FURTHER  REMARKS  UPON  TRANSPORTATION  75 

reside  in  the  colony  had  emigrated  to  it  on  the  faith 
of  the  British  Government's  assurance  that  transporta- 
tion had  ceased  for  ever.  In  spite  of  this,  however,  it 
was  the  intention  of  the  authorities  to  land  this  fresh 
shipload  at  Sydney.  Public  indignation  ran  high,  and 
an  immense  meeting  of  citizens  was  held  to  protest 
against  their  disembarkation  and  generally  against  the 
transportation  of  British  criminals  to  the  colony  of  New 
South  Wales.  The  resolutions  passed  at  that  meeting 
affirmed  that  continued  transportation  was  in  violation 
<?f  the  will  of  the  majority  of  the  colonists  and  incom- 
patible with  their  existence  as  a free  colony  desiring 
self-government,  that  it  was  in  the  highest  degree 
unjust  to  sacrifice  the  social  and  political  interests  of 
the  colony  at  large  to  the  pecuniary  profit  of  a fraction 
of  its  inhabitants,  and  that  therefore  they  protested 
against  the  landing  of  British  convicts  on  their  shores. 
The  Governor  was  asked  to  send  the  ship  and  her 
convicts  back  to  England,  which  he  declined  to  do. 
The  convicts  were  disembarked,  but  none  of  them 
were  actually  landed  in  the  city.  Some  were  sent  to 
Moreton  Bay  and  Parramatta,  and  others  were  dis- 
tributed over  various  parts  of  the  colony  as  assigned 
servants  ” to  prominent  colonists  who  were  not  opposed 
to  the  continuance  of  the  convict  system.  Amongst 
those  who  took  a prominent  part  in  vigorously  con- 
demning it  was  Mr.  Robert  Lowe,  who  was  afterwards 
destined  to  make  a great  name  for  himself  in  English 
political  life.  Mr.  Lowe  had  emigrated  to  Sydney  in 
1842,  having  been  called  to  the  English  bar  in  1836. 
At  Sydney  he  became  one  of  its  most  prominent  prac- 
titioners, and,  entering  politics,  he  was  elected  for  the 
city.  In  1850  'Mr.  Lowe  withdrew  from  colonial 
politics,  and  also  gave  up  his  practice  at  the  Sydney 
bar.  Returning  to  London  in  that  year,  two  years 
afterwards  saw  him  in  the  House  of  Commons  as 


76 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


member  for  Kidderminster.  In  1853  he  joined  Lord 
Aberdeen’s  Ministry,  and  in  1855  he  was  included  in 
Lord  Palmerston’s  Cabinet.  He  got  returned  for  Caine. 
From  1859  to  1864  he  was  President  of  the  Education 
Board  in  the  second  Palmerston  Ministry.  He  sub- 
sequently declined  a seat  in  Lord  Derby’s  Administra- 
tion. He  supported  the  disestablishment  of  the  Irish 
Church,  and  1868  found  him  Chancellor  of  the  Ex- 
chequer in  Mr.  Gladstone’s  Cabinet.  In  1873 
became  Home  Secretary,  and  in  1880  he  took  his 
seat  in  the  Upper  House  as  Viscount  Sherbrook. 
His  English  career  was  always  watched  with  great 
interest  by  colonial  politicians,  and  his  efforts  to  put 
a stop  to  transportation  were  never  forgotten  by 
those  with  whom  he  was  associated  in  that  beneficent 
movement. 

The  protest  against  transportation  was  forwarded 
to  the  British  Government,  and  in  the  meantime 
the  agitation,  which  was  kept  up  in  New  South  Wales, 
extended  to  Victoria  and  Van  Diemen’s  Land,  and 
nearly  two  years  later,  namely,  on  February  i,  1851, 
the  delegates  of  the  Australasian  Conference  assembled 
in  the  Queen’s  Theatre,  Melbourne,  and  drew  up  the 
following  protest : — 

“Whereas  in  1840  the  practice  of  transporting  con- 
victs to  New  South  Wales  was  abandoned  by  the 
Crown,  and  whereas  the  Government  by  divers  pro- 
mises engaged  not  to  send  convicts  from  the  United 
Kingdom  to  New  South  Wales,  New  Zealand,  Victoria, 
or  King  George’s  Sound  ; and  whereas  by  Act  of  the 
British  Parliament  transportation  to  South  Australia 
was  positively  prohibited  ; and  whereas  the  colony  of 
Van  Diemen’s  Land  has  been  deeply  injured  by  the 
pouring  in  of  enormous  masses  of  transported  offenders; 
and  whereas  divers  attempts  have  been  made  to  depart 
from  the  letter  and  spirit  of  these  promises,  we  engage 


FURTHER  REMARKS  UPON  TRANSPORTATION  77 

not  to  employ  any  person  hereafter  arriving  under  sen- 
tence of  transportation  for  crimes  committed  in  Europe. 

“ 2nd.  That  they  will  use  all  the  powers  they  possess, 
official,  electoral,  and  legislative,  to  prevent  the  establish- 
ment of  English  prisons  or  penal  settlements  within 
their  bounds ; that  they  will  refuse  assent  to  any  project 
to  facilitate  the  administration  of  such  penal  systems, 
and  that  they  will  seek  the  repeal  of  all  regulations  and 
the  removal  of  all  establishments  for  such  purposes. 

“And,  lastly,  that  they  solemnly  engage  with  each 
other  to  support  by  their  advice,  their  money,  and  their 
countenance  all  who  may  suffer  in  the  lawful  promotion 
of  this  cause.” 

There  was  no  beating  about  the  bush  in  this  remon- 
strance. The  Australasian  League  meant  all  it  said,  and 
gave  convincing  proof  of  its  earnestness  and  determina- 
tion in  the  matter.  The  historical  document  just  quoted 
was  signed  by  J.  West,  minister  of  St.  John’s  Square 
Chapel,  Launceston,  and  W.  P.  Weston,  gentleman,  as 
delegates  for  Tasmania  ; and  by  the  Mayor  of  Mel- 
bourne (William  Nicholson),  William  Westgarth,  M.L.C., 
and  William  M.  Bell,  Alderman,  as  delegates  for  Victoria. 
The  agitation  was  vigorously  maintained,  because  the 
colonists  set  themselves  determinedly  to  work  to  force 
the  English  Government  to  stop  the  transportation  of 
criminals  to  Van  Diemen’s  Land,  and  in  1853  their 
efforts  were  rewarded  with  success,  the  Duke  of  New- 
castle intimating  that  their  representations  were  acceded 
to.  Transportation  to  New  South  Wales  had  ceased  in 
1839  or  1840  (except  the  surprise  shipment  in  1849), 
and  to  Queensland  (except  the  contingent  in  1849 
Sydney  harbour).  Consequently,  Western  Australia  was 
the  only  place  left  open  for  the  reception  of  convicts, 
and  that  colony  took  them  in  until  1868,  when  the  force 
of  public  opinion  put  an  end  to  the  system. 

Therefore,  nearly  three-and-thirty  years  have  elapsed 


78 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


since  the  last  transported  convict  from  Great  Britain  set 
foot  upon  Australian  soil.  Grouping  together  all  parts 
of  Australia  and  Van  Diemen’s  Land,  the  total  number 
of  British  convicts  landed  on  their  shores  since  trans- 
portation to  New  South  Wales  began  in  1788  until  it 
ceased  in  Western  Australia  in  1868  was  137,161.  Of 
these  116,842  were  males  and  20,319  females.  The 
largest  proportions  of  both  sexes,  as  will  be  seen  later 
on,  were  conveyed  to  Van  Diemen’s  Land. 

In  view  of  the  thrilling  events  which  have  been  taking 
place  recently  in  South  Africa,  it  will  be  interesting  to 
know  what  was  done  by  the  colonists  of  Cape  Colony 
to  resist  the  attempt  which  was  made  to  introduce  the 
convict  system  into  that  part  of  Great  Britain’s  posses- 
sions. Although  two  years  previously  it  had  been 
publicly  declared  by  Earl  Grey  that  no  colony  not 
heretofore  a penal  one  should  be  made  a receptacle  for 
convicts  without  its  own  consent,  by  an  Order  in  Council 
the  Cape  was  proclaimed  a penal  colony  in  1849,  and 
on  the  19th  September  of  that  year  the  ship  Neptune 
arrived  in  Simon’s  Bay  with  several  hundred  convicts 
on  board  from  the  Bermudas.  The  ship  took  five 
months  to  get  there,  and  in  the  meantime  a strong 
anti-convict  agitation  arose  over  all  South  Africa. 
John  Mitchel,  the  celebrated  Irish  exile,  was  amongst 
those  on  board  the  Neptune — of  course,  treated  differ- 
ently from  the  rest  as  a political  offender  sentenced  to 
fourteen  years’  transportation — and  Mr.  Mitchel  records 
in  his  most  interesting  Jail  Journal  the  position  of  affairs 
at  the  Cape  as  he  found  them  on  the  arrival  of  the 
Neptune  in  Simon’s  Bay : “ The  people  have  forced 
the  Legislative  Council  to  dissolve  itself ; the  Governor, 
Sir  Harry  Smith,  was  compelled  a month  ago  to  pro- 
mise that  when  the  Neptune  should  arrive  he  would  not 
suffer  one  convict  to  land  ; and  the  colonists  themselves, 
tradesmen,  merchants,  butchers,  bakers,  innkeepers,  and 


FURTHER  REMARKS  UPON  TRANSPORTATION  79 

all,  have  combined  to  a man  in  an  universal  ‘Anti- 
Convict  Association,'  vowing  that  they  will  neither 
employ  any  convict,  sell  anything  to  any  convict,  give 
a convict  a place  to  lay  his  head,  or  deal  with,  coun- 
tenance, or  speak  to  any  traitor  who  may  so  comfort  or 
abet  a convict,  from  the  Governor  down  to  the  black 
coolies  and  boatmen.  As  we  were  so  long  at  sea,  the 
excitement  and  effective  organisation  had  time  to  grow 
strong— newspapers,  public  meetings,  pulpits  had  been 
loud  and  furious  ; and  so,  when  we,  all  unconscious, 
sailed  up  False  Bay  to-day,  the  Cape  was  fully  ready 
for  us.  Before  we  made  the  harbour  of  Simon's  Bay 
(which  is  a small  basin  inside  False  Bay,  about  twenty 
miles  from  Capetown)  the  Neptune  was  known  by  her 
signals,  and  a boat  from  the  shore  hailed  us.  It  was 
the  harbour-master  of  Simon's  Bay  bringing  Dr.  Dees 
a note  from  the  Governor,  ordering  him  to  cast  anchor 
in  the  bay,  and  neither  to  go  ashore  himself  nor  suffer 
any  communication  between  the  ship  and  the  shore  till 
further  orders.  The  same  gentleman  brought  a bundle 
of  Cape  newspapers,  that  we  might  see  the  doings  of 
the  ‘Anti-Convict  Association,'  and  how  impossible  it 
is  for  the  cargo  of  felony  to  be  unloaded  here.  The 

harbour-master  also  handed  me  a letter  from ; and 

a gentleman  who  came  off  with  him  introduced  himself 
to  me  as  Dr.  Steward,  ‘ Health  Officer ' of  the  port ; 
gave  me  some  newspapers  which  he  had  brought  for 
me,  and  told  me  that,  so  far  as  I am  concerned,  there 
is  no  objection  to  my  landing  on  the  part  of  the  people 
— that  they  understand  quite  well  how  I happen  to  be 
here,  that  none  of  this  agitation,  ‘ of  course,'  has  refer- 
ence to  me,  and  so  forth — adding  something  of  an 
apologetic  nature  about  the  popular  violence.  I told 
him  I was  delighted  to  find  the  colonists  so  determined 
to  resist  the  abominable  outrage  attempted  by  ‘Govern- 
ment'— that  they  were  completely  in  the  right,  and  I 


8o 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


hoped  they  would  stand  out  to  the  last  extremity — that 
as  to  myself,  though  everybody  indeed  knew  I was  no 
felon,  yet  I could  not  expect  the  people  here  to  make 
any  distinction  in  my  favour  ; they  were  engaged  in  a 
great  struggle,  involving  the  very  existence  of  their 
society,  and  could  not  afford  to  attend  to  particular 
exceptions.  He  seemed  surprised  at  my  warmth  ; but 
I was  willing  to  let  the  first  Cape  man  who  spoke  to 
me  know  what  I think  of  the  business. 

“ The  harbour-master  informs  me  that  every  one  at 
the  Cape,  knowing  we  had  left  Bermuda  five  months 
ago,  had  concluded  that  the  ship  must  have  gone  down 
with  all  hands,  and  that  so  the  Colony  would  be  saved 
the  struggle  it  has  been  preparing  for.  In  fact,  several 
Clergymen  have  been  praying  to  God  in  their  pulpits,  to 
avert  the  infliction,  and  complacently  remarking  in  their 
sermons  upon  the  presumed  loss  of  the  Neptune  with 
every  soul  on  board  as  one  of  the  most  special  provi- 
dences yet  recorded.’^ 

The  agitation  spread  throughout  Cape  Colony  and 
became  of  so  serious  a character  that  rebellion  would 
unquestionably  have  been  the  result  if  the  Government 
had  insisted  upon  the  unloading  of  the  Neptune's  con- 
victs at  the  Cape  ; but  after  the  ship,  with  her  living 
freight,  had  ridden  at  anchor  in  Simon’s  Bay  from 
September  19,  1849,  to  February  13,  1850,  despatches 
were  received  from  Lord  Grey  stating  that  the  Neptune 
was  to  proceed  forthwith  to  Van  Diemen’s  Land.  She 
sailed  on  the  19th,  and  there  were  public  rejoicings  and 
illuminations  in  all  the  towns  of  Cape  Colony  on  the 
night  following  her  departure.  Cape  Colony  was  thus 
saved  from  the  taint  of  convictism. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  agitation  against  the  Cape 
Colony  being  made  a penal  settlement  was  almost 
simultaneous  with  the  movement  in  Sydney  to  resist  the 
landing  of  any  more  convicts  there, 


CHAPTER  IX 

IN  OLD  CONVICT  DAYS  AND  AFTER 

Any  one  who  is  privileged,  as  the  author  has  been, 
with  recourse  to  the  archives  in  Sydney  and 
Hobart,  will  be  able  to  form  a tolerably  accurate  notion 
of  the  position  of  affairs  in  New  South  Wales  and  Van 
Diemen’s  Land  at  the  periods  when  penal  settlements 
were  founded  in  the  respective  colonies.  If  he  desires 
to  study  the  subject  with  more  than  ordinary  minuteness, 
he  will  have  to  wade  through  a mass  of  details  which 
become  somewhat  monotonous  by  reiteration.  Fusty 
parchments,  and  other  manuscripts,  printed  gazettes  and 
papers  in  various  stages  of  mutilation  and  decay,  will 
require  to  be  scanned  before  he  can  hope  to  evolve  from 
the  abundant  material  placed  at  his  disposal  anything  in 
the  shape  of  a chronological  narrative  of  events.  To 
make  researches  of  this  description  w^ould  dispose  of  far 
more  time  than  the  average  mortal  feels  willing  to  devote 
to  the  task,  and  that  was  precisely  the  author’s  experi- 
ence when  permission  was  courteously  granted  to  him 
to  peruse  and  examine  the  earliest  and  latest  records  of 
Van  Diemen’s  Land  under  the  convict  system.  Without 
imposing  upon  himself  the  extreme  arduousness  of  such 
a gigantic  undertaking,  which  would  have  consumed 
many  months  in  the  performance  of  it,  the  author  was 
compelled  to  restrict  his  inquiries  to  such  features  of  the 
earlier  history  of  Van  Diemen’s  Land  as  would  enable 


82 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


him  to  disencumber  his  recital  from  details  not  only 
wearisome  to  his  readers,  but  unnecessarily  superfluous 
in  a general  description  of  convict  life  and  character. 
To  render  his  work  still  more  reliable,  the  author  not 
only  consulted  the  public  records,  but  visited  localities 
which  had  been  the  scenes  of  so  much  human  misery, 
brutality,  and  vengeance.  He  saw  many  of  the  old 
prisons,  which  have  become  dilapidated  ruins — enough  of 
them  still  left  to  give  one  a fair  idea  of  the  plan  of  their 
construction  with  a view  to  afford  the  least  degree  of 
comfort  to  the  unfortunate  wretches  who  were  sent  there, 
and  at  the  same  time  to  provide  the  most  effectual 
means  and  appliances  for  their  punishment.  But  if  one 
wishes  to  familiarise  himselfwith  what  actually  happened 
at  these  dreadful  establishments  from  time  to  time,  he 
must  consult  the  newspaper  literature  of  the  period,  such 
as  it  was  ; for,  although  Press  censorship  was  not  an 
unknown  institution  in  those  days,  exposures  were  some- 
times made  which  showed  that  a very  revolting  state  of 
affairs  existed  for  many  years  after  the  convict  system 
was  introduced  into  Van  Diemen’s  Land.  Despite  all 
attempts  at  suppression  on  the  part  of  the  authorities, 
revelations  of  a most  unpleasant  kind  found  their  way 
into  print.  Such  of  the  convicts  as  managed  to  elude 
the  vigilance  of  their  jailors  and  procure  their  freedom 
at  great  risks,  availed  themselves  of  every  possible 
opportunity  to  expose  the  brutal  system  ; and,  to  their 
credit  be  it  said,  some  of  the  prison  chaplains,  shocked 
at  the  enormities  which  were  perpetrated  at  these  penal 
settlements,  did  not  hesitate  to  remonstrate  strongly 
against  them.  In  later  years.  Bishop  Wilson  and  other 
men  equally  humane  and  incensed,  launched  powerful 
indictments  against  the  treatment  of  the  convicts,  and 
a perusal  of  the  records  of  both  Houses  of  the  British 
i^arliament  will  show  that  the  charges  against  the  system 
were  unfortunately  too  well  founded. 


IN  OLD  CONVICT  DAYS  AND  AFTER 


83 


It  mattered  little  in  earlier  times  whether  the  convict 
was  located  at  Hobart  Town,  in  the  bleak  and  inhospit- 
able regions  of  Macquarie  Harbour,  or  later  still  at  Port 
Arthur  or  on  Maria  Island — there  was  no  material 
difference  in  the  nature  of  the  punishments  inflicted  on 
him,  and  it  would  be  a stretch  of  the  imagination  to 
suppose  that  worse  things  have  ever  happened  in  Siberia. 
Weighted  down  with  heavy  chains,  which  made  walking 
exceedingly  difficult,  the  convict  was  required  to  toil  in 
the  woods  or  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood  of  his 
prison,  from  day  to  day  and  month  to  month,  without 
hope  of  his  fetters  ever  being  removed  or  the  exactions 
upon  his  powers  of  physical  endurance  made  less  irk- 
some or  hard  to  bear.  If  he  complained  that  he  was 
too  ill  to  continue  with  his  gang,  no  relief  was  forth- 
coming. His  physical  weakness  was  called  malingering, 
and  his  complainings  only  increased  the  brutality  of  his 
jailors  and  sent  him  to  the  triangle,  where  fifty  lashes, 
and  sometimes  a hundred,  upon  his  bared  back  and  loins 
were  applied  as  a preventive  of  any  complaints  in  future. 
Flogging  was  resorted  to  for  sometimes  the  most  trivial 
breaches  of  prison  discipline,  and  the  cat  was  painfully 
in  evidence  upon  many  occasions  when  there  was  not 
the  slightest  justification  for  recourse  to  that  method  of 
punishment.  Solitary  confinement,  for  days  and  even 
weeks,  upon  the  most  inadequate  sustenance,  was  fre- 
quently the  sequel  to  the  barbarous  lash,  and  if  the  con- 
victs survived  the  trying  ordeal,  they  emerged  from  it  with 
a fixed  determination  to  revenge  themselves  whenever 
they  had  the  chance,  by  taking  the  lives  of  those  whose 
cruelties  had  converted  their  hearts  to  stone  and  made 
them  utterly  reckless  and  desperate,  careless  of  prolonged 
'existence  after  the  accomplishment  of  the  deeds  of  ven- 
geance they  had  resolved  to  perpetrate  upon  their 
inhuman  persecutors.  Many  of  them  succumbed  before 
they  had  the  opportunity,  and  straight  from  the  triangle 


84 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


to  the  deadhouse  was  the  last  record  of  some  who  ceased 
to  live  before  the  full  number  of  lashes  could  be  inflicted 
upon  them.  It  was  an  offence  to  some  of  the  prison 
officials  if  a convict  endured  his  flagellation  unflinchingly 
and  then  the  cat  was  applied  more  ferociously  to  break 
his  spirit  and  ensure  submissiveness.  But  the  cruellest 
part  of  the  proceedings  at  these  penal  establishments 
was  when  a man  was  called  upon  to  flog  a fellow  convict, 
and,  if  he  refused  to  comply,  straight  away  he  was 
fastened  to  the  triangle  and  as  many  lashes  administered 
as  suited  the  whim  of  the  monster  whose  odious  com- 
mand had  been  disobeyed.  Orders  of  this  description, 
however,  were  sometimes  given  effect  to  by  convicts  of 
weaker  spirit  who  dreaded  the  lash  more  than  anything 
else,  and  if  they  displayed  any  merciful  feelings  by 
making  their  strokes  lighter  than  it  was  considered 
they  should  be,  they  were  instantly  threatened  with 
flagellation,  and  the  force  of  their  strokes  was  increased 
accordingly. 

The  discipline  was  so  rigorous  and  the  punishments 
so  severe  at  these  penal  establishments,  that  instances 
occurred  where  convicts  took  each  other’s  lives  so  that 
they  themselves  might  suffer  death,  and  suicide  was  by 
no  means  infrequent. 

Incredible  as  it  may  seem,  but  only  too  well  sub- 
stantiated by  positive  testimony,  incidents  of  this  kind 
sometimes  happened.  Convicts,  maddened  to  despair, 
brooded  over  the  sufferings  inflicted  upon  them, and  seeing 
no  possible  means  of  escape,  resolved  to  face  death  as  the 
only  release  from  tortures  and  agonies  which  were  truly 
revolting.  Utterly  careless  of  their  lives,  three  or  four  of 
these  men  who  were  subjected  to  treatment  so  diabolical 
would  conspire  amongst  each  other  to  put  an  end  to 
sufferings  which  were  beyond  endurance.  How  was  this 
to  be  accomplished  ? They  decided  the  question  in  this 
way  : they  drew  lots,  and  one  of  their  number — the 


IN  OLD  CONVICT  DAYS  AND  AFTER 


85 


man  who  drew  the  shortest  straw — was  to  be  murdered 
by  the  others,  so  that  they  might  be  hanged  for  his 
murder.  The  man  who  drew  the  shortest  straw  was 
called  the  lucky  one,  and  he  was  soon  despatched  out  of 
his  misery.  There  was  no  effort  to  deny  how  he  had 
come  by  his  death  ; self-accusation  served  the  purpose 
of  his  murderers,  and  they  were  executed  for  a crime 
which  they  had  arranged  amongst  themselves  to  commit 
in  order  that  the  scaffold  might  claim  its  voluntary 
victims.  “ Anywhere,  anywhere  out  of  the  world,”  it 
mattered  not  how  ignominiously,  was  a welcomed 
termination  to  their  miserable  and  brutalised  existence 
in  the  penal  prisons  of  Van  Diemen's  Land.  The 
instruments  of  torture  at  these  places  were  various,  and 
always  too  ready  at  hand  ; the  iniquities  of  the  Spanish 
Inquisition  were  perpetrated  with  impunity  upon  help- 
less victims,  and  the  poor  wretches  courted  death  and 
met  it  voluntarily  and  unflinchingly,  as  though  it  had 
been  a Heaven-sent  deliverance  from  their  dreadful 
trials.  It  is  with  shame  one  has  to  admit  that  such 
things  were  not  only  possible  under  the  convict  system, 
but  that  they  actually  took  place  in  the  penal  establish- 
ments of  Van  Diemen's  Land  and  Australia  until  the 
exposure  of  these  inhuman  outrages  led  to  their  discon- 
tinuance. Had  the  British  Government  and  people  of  a 
past  generation  been  sooner  apprised  of  them,  it  is  only 
just  to  their  feelings  of  humanity  to  believe  that  drastic 
measures  would  have  been  taken  at  a much  earlier 
period  to  punish  those  who  were  responsible  for  these 
atrocities,  and  to  reform  the  transportation  system. 

With  other  convicts,  who  thought  neither  of  suicide 
nor  of  murder  to  ensure  execution,  escape  was  the  one 
thing  which  was  ever  present  in  their  minds,  and  months 
and  years  rolled  by  before  they  were  able  to  emancipate 
themselves  in  that  way.  The  most  surprising  thing  of 
all  is,  that  so  many  managed  to  get  away.  In  the  first 


86 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


place  they  were  chained  and  weighted  with  irons  to  an 
extent  that  rendered  flight  an  apparent  impossibility. 
Secondly,  they  were  so  strongly  guarded  that  to  elude 
detection  and  pursuit  seemed  hopeless.  The  natural 
features  of  the  localities  were  such  that  the  prison 
officials  had  no  misgivings  about  the  absolute  security 
of  the  convicts.  Every  avenue  of  escape  was  provided 
with  its  sentry,  and  watch  dogs  were  kennelled  at  various 
points  to  raise  the  alarm  if  escapes  were  attempted.  If 
he  broke  prison  and  succeeded  in  reaching  the  rockbound 
shores  of  his  island  prison,  the  runaway  convict  had  next 
to  swim  across  channels  where  sharks  abounded  before 
he  could  reach  the  mainland.  Yet,  in  spite  of  all  these 
precautions  for  their  safe  custody,  and  difficulties  which 
seemed  insurmountable,  convicts  were  able  to  get  away, 
sometimes  by  ones  and  twos,  and  occasionally  in  bands 
of  half  a dozen  and  upwards.  They  watched  for  their 
opportunity,  and  it  came  at  last.  Some  fortunate 
circumstance  enabled  them  to  secrete  an  instrument  of 
some  kind  which  served  to  file  their  fetters  through,  and, 
once  one  of  their  number  was  released  from  these  impedi- 
ments, the  liberation  of  his  comrades  from  their  chains 
was  easily  accomplished.  Implicit  confidence  in  the 
security  of  these  convicts  conduced  to  a laxity  of 
vigilance  on  the  part  of  their  keepers,  and  by  a sudden 
and  unexpected  rush  the  former  were  able  to  dispose  of 
their  immediate  guardians  before  any  alarm  could  be 
raised.  Then  they  managed  to  get  clean  away,  and 
surmounted  every  obstacle  to  their  liberty.  Some  of 
these  attempts  failed  utterly,  and  the  convicts  were 
either  shot  dead  or  they  surrendered.  One  of  the  best 
chances  of  escape  lay  in  their  ability  to  seize  a vessel  and 
put  to  sea  before  they  could  be  recaptured.  When  that 
opportunity  did  not  present  itself,  then  the  mainland 
must  be  reached,  and  even  then  their  liberty  was  of 
short  duration.  The  inhospitable  nature  of  the  country. 


IN  OLD  CONVICT  DAYS  AND  AFTER  87 

and  the  difficulty  of  procuring  food,  forced  many  of  them 
to  return  to  the  beach  and  give  themselves  up,  and 
pitiable  was  the  plight  which  reduced  them  to  this  bitter 
necessity.  Others,  who  were  able  to  endure  greater 
privations  than  their  companions,  penetrated  far  into  the 
interior  and  became  outlawed  bushrangers,  for  whose 
arrest  considerable  rewards  were  offered  by  the  Govern- 
ment from  time  to  time.  For  years  some  of  them 
baffled  all  the  measures  that  were  adopted  for  their  re- 
capture ; but  when  this  was  effected  their  penalty  was 
death  on  the  scaffold  at  Hobart  Town,  unless  it  was 
clearly  proved  that  their  escape  had  been  accomplished 
without  murder,  and  that  they  had  taken  no  one's  life 
during  the  period  of  outlawry.  Then  they  were  sent 
back  through  “ Hell’s  gates  ” to  Macquarie  Harbour,  or 
Port  Arthur,  if  that  was  the  establishment  they  had 
absconded  from  subsequently  to  the  abandonment  of 
Macquarie  Harbour,  which  was  the  original  receptacle 
for  the  worst  class  of  convicts. 

It  would  be  wrong  to  imagine  that  convicts  were 
treated  with  much  less  severity  either  at  Moreton  Bay, 
Cockatoo  Island,  or  other  penal  establishments  which 
were  founded  as  portions  of  the  system  which  was 
originally  introduced  into  New  South  Wales.  But  more 
convicts  were  sent  to  Van  Diemen’s  Land  than  any- 
where else ; the  stations  there  were  more  romantically 
situated  and  isolated  to  an  extent  that  removed  them 
from  public  supervision,  and  permitted  abuses  to  exist 
which  might  have  been  checked  if  Macquarie  Harbour, 
for  instance,  had  been  nearer  to  the  capital.  Van 
Diemen’s  Land  gained  a greater  notoriety  than  any 
other  colony  in  connection  with  the  system  of  trans- 
portation, and  the  desperate  escapes  which  were  made 
from  its  prisons  invested  the  colony  with  a degree  of 
interest  and  attention  specially  its  own.  The  capital 
itself  was  a hotbed  of  all  sorts  of  crime  and  iniquity  in 


88 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


the  days  of  Governor  Sorell,  and  for  years  afterwards. 
It  was  quite  a common  thing  for  officers  and  others  to 
keep  female  convicts  as  their  mistresses,  and  vice  and 
immorality  were  the  outcomes  to  be  expected  from  a 
system  which  allowed  free  settlers  and  military  men  to 
make  their  own  selection  of  “ assigned  prisoners ''  as 
servants.  Free  and  bond  appear  to  have  been  tarred 
with  the  same  brush,  if  reliance  can  be  placed  on  the 
early  chroniclers  of  existing  social  conditions.  The 
written  pictures  of  life  in  Hobart  Town  indicate  pretty 
clearly  that  the  military  portion  of  the  population  could 
do  exactly  what  they  pleased,  and,  as  may  be  inferred, 
the  morals  of  the  place  did  not  improve  from  this 
unbridled  license.  Drunkenness  was  very  rampant,  and 
illicit  intercourse  between  bond  and  free  was  too  general 
to  be  regarded  as  a subject  for  remonstrance  or  reproach. 
In  those  days  murders  and  other  personal  outrages  were 
of  frequent  occurrence,  and  floggings  and  hangings  were 
spectacles  that  could  be  witnessed  at  intervals  which 
were  neither  few  nor  far  between.  Occasionally,  as  many 
as  six  or  eight  condemned  prisoners  were  launched  into 
eternity  upon  the  same  morning  ; and,  as  far  as  floggings 
are  concerned,  the  billets  of  the  official  flagellators  were 
no  sinecures.  The  victims  were  many,  and  the  punish- 
ments unmercifully  severe  and  sometimes  fatal.  In  the 
prisons  themselves,  not  only  in  Hobart  Town,  but  at 
Macquarie  Harbour,  Port  Arthur,  and  Maria  Island, 
crimes  were  committed  of  a nature  too  revolting  to  be 
recounted  in  these  pages.  Any  one  desirous  of  perusing 
the  unsavoury  details  need  not  go  so  faraway  as  Sydney 
or  Hobart  to  get  nauseated  with  that  kind  of  reading. 
All  he  has  got  to  do  is  to  refer  to  the  evidence  given 
before  Select  Committees  of  the  House  of  Lords  and 
House  of  Commons,  and  he  will  find  that  the  convict 
system  has  never  been  too  severely  condemned,  nor  the 
brutalities  and  villainies  practised  under  that  system 


IN  OLD  CONVICT  DAYS  AND  AFTER 


overdrawn  for  purposes  of  sensationalism.  The  wonder 
is  that  these  penal  stations  were  not  broken  up  long 
before  the  mandate  went  forth  to  abolish  them.  Possibly 
if  public  opinion  on  the  question  in  the  colonies  had  not 
been  so  pronounced,  their  abolition  would  have  been 
still  further  delayed. 

Between  the  years  1803  1853  the  total  number  of 

convicts  landed  in  Van  Diemen's  Land  was  67,655,  of 
whom  56,042  were  males  and  11,613  females.  What  an 
enormous  proportion  of  the  entire  population  of  the 
colony  was  represented  by  these  figures ! Nearly  half  a 
century  has  elapsed  since  the  system  was  put  an  end  to 
there,  and  a great  alteration  in  the  social  conditions  of 
the  place  has  ensued  in  the  meantime.  So  far  as  order- 
liness is  concerned,  Hobart  will  compare  favourably  with 
any  other  city  of  the  same  size  in  Australasia  ; and  from 
a moral  standpoint  it  will  likewise  stand  the  test  of 
comparison,  whilst  for  downright,  genuine  and  unstinted 
hospitality  it  is  not  to  be  surpassed.  One  would 
naturally  expect  a different  state  of  things  in  a city 
which  was  the  scene  of  so  much  outrage,  disorder,  and 
immorality  little  more  than  half  a century  ago,  and  he  is 
agreeably  surprised  when  he  finds  the  city  of  Hobart 
what  it  really  is  to-day.  The  fact  is,  that  as  soon  as 
they  were  able  to  do  so,  the  bulk  of  the  worst  criminal 
class  in  Van  Diemen's  Land  migrated  elsewhere,  and 
the  goldfields  of  California  and  Australia  absorbed  a 
large  number  of  these  undesirable  people.  It  was  a good 
riddance  for  Van  Diemen's  Land,  and  the  consequence 
is  that  the  population  differs  in  no  essential  features 
from  other  Australasian  communities. 

It  is  true  that  if  the  traveller  wishes  to  see  the  last 
relics  of  convictism,  and  to  hear  thrilling  stories  of  con- 
vict life,  Tasmania  is  the  place  to  go  to.  If  the  subject 
deeply  interests  him,  trips  to  Macquarie  Harbour,  Port 
Arthur,  and  Maria  Island,  will  supply  him  with  abun- 


90 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


dant  material  for  reflection,  and  in  Hobart  itself  he  will 
see  the  ruins  of  the  old  prison  at  The  Cascades,  where 
thousands  of  prisoners  from  time  to  time  passed  through 
some  terrible  ordeals.  Probably  dilapidation  has  not 
yet  made  sufficient  headway  as  to  have  obliterated  the 
general  plan  upon  which  the  cells  were  constructed,  with 
their  double  doors,  between  which  a prisoner  was  made 
to  stand  for  forty-eight  hours  at  a stretch  without  the 
possibility  of  changing  his  position.  They  were  specially 
constructed  with  that  object. 

The  average  Tasmanian  is  by  no  means  reticent  upon 
a subject  so  delicate  as  convictism.  He  does  not  regard 
it  as  in  any  way  a reflection  upon  his  generation.  If  it 
has  been  a disgrace  in  the  past,  he  considers  that  he  is 
not  affected  by  it  now.  Some  ‘‘  old  hands  are  still  to 
be  met  with  whose  experiences  have  been  bitter  under 
the  convict  system,  but  they  will  not  feel  offended  if  you 
attempt  to  draw  ''  them  on  the  subject.  Indeed,  they 
take  a pleasure  in  referring  to  old  times,  and  their  eyes 
will  glisten  with  delight  as  they  recount  some  of  the 
daring  exploits  performed  by  themselves  and  some 
comrades  who  have  passed  away.  During  one  of  his 
visits  to  the  island  about  twenty  years  ago,  the  author 
saw  that  some  indefatigable  advance  agent  had  painted 
the  city  red  with  posters  announcing  the  production  of 
the  '‘Ticket-of-Leave  Man.’'  Happening  to  be  ac- 
quainted with  the  impresario,  the  author  on  meeting  him 
expressed  surprise  that  he  should  venture  upon  the 
staging  of  a melodrama  like  this  in  a place  which  had 
been  the  hotbed  of  convictism. 

“ Don’t  you  think  the  people  here  will  regard  it  as  a 
reflection  upon  themselves,  and  may  take  measures  to 
resent  the  insult  ? ” 

My  dear  boy,  they  will  do  nothing  of  the  kind. 
They  rather  like  this  sort  of  thing.  Just  wait  and  see. 
Come  along  to  the  theatre  to-night,  and  you  will  see 


IN  OLD  CONVICT  DAYS  AND  AFTER  91 

how  the  place  is  packed.  It  is  the  very  thing  to  scoop 
in  the  dollars  ; the  ‘ Ticket-of-Leave  Man  ^ is  the  trump 
card  of  my  repertoire.” 

It  was  as  the  impresario  had  foretold.  When  the 
author  went  to  the  theatre  he  found  the  house  filled  in 
every  part.  The  gentleman  who  accompanied  him  was 
able,  from  his  official  position,  to  indicate  some  of  the 
“old  hands”  amongst  the  audience.  There  was  also 
present  a numerous  sprinkling  of  convict  descendants. 
The  applause  was  deafening  as  the  curtain  descended  at 
the  termination  of  each  act,  and  quite  an  ovation  was 
accorded  to  Bob  Brierly  and  Hawkshaw,  the  detective. 

After  that  evening’s  experience  the  author  had  no 
feelings  of  compunction  in  pursuing  his  inquiries  about 
convict  life  in  Van  Diemen’s  Land. 


CHAPTER  X 


B U S li  R A N G I N G 

ONE  of  the  earliest  products  of  convictism  was 
bushranging,  a species  of  highway  robbery  and 
outrage  upon  a far  greater  scale  than  anything  of  the 
sort  known  in  the  old  world.  It  was  called  bushranging 
from  the  fact  that  the  forests  of  Australia  and  Van 
Diemen’s  Land  afforded  a safe  harbour  of  refuge  and 
concealment  to  those  who  engaged  in  the  lawless  enter- 
prise. The  first  to  become  bushrangers  were  those  who 
had  succeeded  in  making  their  escape  from  the  penal 
establishments.  In  their  wild  and  unsettled  condition 
these  countries  gave  the  fullest  scope  for  bushranging 
exploits,  and  the  authorities  were  unable  to  secure  the 
outlaws  despite  the  large  rewards  that  were  offered  from 
time  to  time  for  their  capture.  When  a convict  man- 
aged to  get  away,  his  first  care  was  to  penetrate  as  far 
into  the  forests  as  possible,  so  as  to  induce  his  pursuers 
to  give  up  the  chase.  If  he  was  able  to  procure  food  of 
any  kind  he  kept  away,  but  many  instances  occurred 
where  escaped  convicts  returned  and  surrendered  them- 
selves voluntarily  because  they  were  unable  to  sustain 
themselves  and  so  prolong  their  liberty.  In  that  event, 
hoggings  were  administered  of  a severity  to  deter  them 
from  any  future  attempts  at  escape ; their  chains  and 
fetters  were  doubled,  and  generally  speaking  they  had 


BUSHRANGING 


93 


to  submit  to  a course  of  prison  treatment  far  more 
rigorous  and  hard  to  bear  than  they  had  previously  been 
subjected  to.  Knowing  the  fate  that  was  in  store  for 
them,  surrenders  were  only  made  to  save  themselves 
from  starvation.  They  were  pitiable  objects  to  see 
when  their  jailors  again  got  hold  of  them.  Emaciated 
to  an  extent  beyond  recognition,  they  would  certainly 
have  died  in  the  bush  if  they  had  not  managed  to  crawl 
back  to  the  vicinity  of  the  prison  stations,  and  they 
devoured,  more  like  wolves  than  human  beings,  the  food 
that  was  thrown  to  them  after  surrender.  Those  who 
gave  themselves  up  had  taken  to  the  bush  without  arms 
or  ammunition,  and  were  unable  therefore  to  procure 
any  of  the  birds  or  animals  with  which  the  bush 
abounded,  and  they  were  absolutely  without  means  of 
any  kind  to  procure  what  food  was  necessary  to  their 
sustenance.  Some  of  them  died  of  starvation  before 
they  could  get  back  to  the  penal  stations.  Other 
escapers  were  more  fortunate.  They  managed  to  provide 
themselves  with  arms  and  ammunition  in  their  flight, 
and  they  had  no  reason  to  give  back  their  liberty. 
They  wandered  about  in  these  lonely  forests  for  months 
in  their  own  companionship,  and  by  degrees  managed 
to  come  upon  the  fringes  of  settlement  in  far  outlying 
districts.  Food  was  no  longer  all  they  cared  for.  They 
wanted  clothing  and  money  and  horses  to  ride.  They 
swooped  down  upon  the  unsuspecting  settlers  in  these 
isolated  localities  and  took  all  they  wanted.  They 
formed  themselves  into  gangs,  with  recognised  leaders 
to  each,  and  became  more  emboldened  after  each  act  of 
brigandage.  They  had  always  the  dark  recesses  of  the 
forest  to  retreat  to  if  superior  force  threatened  them, 
and  they  could  carry  on  their  depredations  with  im- 
punity. They  were  outlawed  by  proclamation,  but  that 
was  about  all  the  authorities  could  do  in  the  matter. 
They  could  not  get  at  them,  and  large  rewards  for  their 


94 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


capture  were  for  a long  time  of  no  avail.  Outlying 
settlers  were  terrorised,  but  they  had  to  submit  to  the 
demands  of  the  outlawed  men  and  surrender  to  them 
whatever  they  required.  There  was,  of  course,  a good 
deal  of  the  convict  element  in  these  far-off  settlements — 
men  and  women  who  were  there  on  ticket-of-leave,  and 
they  had  a good  deal  of  sympathy  for  the  bushrangers, 
because  they  had  all  once  belonged  to  the  same  family 
and  had  endured  the  same  sort  of  rigorous  treatment  at 
the  penal  stations.  Inform  on  them  or  assist  in  the  re- 
capture of  these  bushrangers  they  certainly  would  not. 
The  opposite  was  exactly  what  they  did.  From  these 
sources  the  bushrangers  always  knew  when  and  where 
danger  lurked,  and  the  officers  of  the  law  were  baffled 
accordingly  in  their  efforts  to  hunt  them  down.  Some- 
times they  came  near  effecting  their  purpose,  and  these 
conflicts  between  the  bushrangers  and  police  ended  with 
a fatality  or  two  on  each  side,  and  the  rest  of  the  gang 
got  clean  away.  They  were  always  assisted  by  settlers 
of  their  own  class,  and  were  never  in  want  of  anything 
it  was  in  the  power  of  these  settlers  to  provide  them 
with.  Gradually  evincing  greater  boldness,  the  bush- 
rangers took  to  such  high-roads  as  then  existed,  and 
‘‘  stuck  up  ’’  whomsoever  they  came  across  and  eased 
them  of  everything  they  possessed — money,  valuables, 
and  even  clothing.  It  fared  worse  with  these  victims  if 
they  offered  any  resistance,  for  in  that  event  some  of 
these  desperadoes  showed  little  regard  for  life,  and 
added  murder  to  their  other  crimes.  Many  of  these 
bushrangers,  however,  never  stained  their  hands  with 
human  blood,  and  were  never  known  to  harm  a woman, 
although  women  frequently  came  within  their  power. 
Indeed,  so  far  from  maltreating  them  in  any  way,  a 
bushranger  has  been  known  to  shoot  dead  a companion 
who  has  attempted  to  take  advantage  of  a woman’s 
helplessness,  and  this  record  has  saved  many  a bush- 


BUSHRANGING 


95 


ranger  from  the  scaffold  after  his  recapture.  But  there 
were  amongst  these  bushranging  gangs  men  who  would 
not  hesitate  to  perpetrate  the  worst  atrocities  in  cold 
blood.  Society  had  outlawed  them,  and  the  nature  and 
extent  of  their  retaliation  were  to  them  matters  of  the 
smallest  concern.  They  stopped  at  nothing,  but  robbed, 
outraged  and  murdered  as  their  moods  prompted  them, 
and  as  considerations  for  their  own  safety  suggested  the 
removal  of  evidence  against  them  by  the  despatch  of 
their  victims.  With  so  many  of  these  outlaws  at  large, 
the  condition  of  things  in  the  early  days  of  New  South 
Wales  and  Van  Diemen's  Land  was  far  from  pleasant. 
Nobody's  life  was  really  safe,  and  as  for  property  there 
was  little  or  no  security  at  all.  Horses,  cattle  and  sheep 
on  the  out-stations  were  practically  at  the  mercy  of 
these  gangs,  and  mobs  of  them  were  seized  and  driven 
away  to  their  fastnesses  far  beyond  the  bounds  of 
civilisation.  The  impunity  with  which  all  these  lawless 
acts  were  committed  had  an  ill  effect  upon  the  rising 
generation.  Lads  budding  into  manhood  regarded 
these  bushrangers  as  heroes,  and  longed  for  a chance  to 
imitate  their  exploits.  It  came,  of  course,  and  they 
became  bushrangers,  too — young  fellows,  even,  whose 
people  had  gone  to  the  colonies  upon  their  own  account, 
and  whose  sons  had  not  the  curse  of  heredity  upon  them 
to  drive  them  into  evil  courses.  But  bushranging  had 
such  a fascination  for  these  young  colonials  that  they 
could  not  resist  its  temptations.  And  so  bushranging 
grew  apace. 

In  later  years  it  grew  to  such  dimensions  that  the 
authorities  were  obliged  to  take  the  most  vigorous 
measures  to  suppress  it.  The  necessity  for  extirpating 
it  became  so  pressing  that  tempting  rewards  were 
offered,  and  mixed  parties  of  police  and  settlers*^ 
organised  to  capture  various  gangs.  These  steps  were 
required  to  be  taken  in  Australia  and  Van  Diemen's 


()6  AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 

Land,  for  alike  on  the  Continent  and  in  that  island, 
bushranging  had  established  a reign  of  terror.  The 
discovery  of  gold  in  Australia  gave  it  a fresh  impetus, 
and  gangs  were  formed  in  districts  where  the  best  hauls 
were  to  be  expected.  To  rob  the  gold  escorts  was  their 
highest  ambition,  and  in  some  cases  they  succeeded  in 
doing  this  and  getting  away  with  valuable  booty.  Going 
and  returning  diggers  were  stuck  up  and  robbed,  and 
their  lives  taken  in  many  instances.  Mounted  troopers 
were  shot  down,  and  travelling  upon  the  high-roads  in 
New  South  Wales,  Victoria,  Queensland,  and  Western 
Australia  was  at  all  times  attended  with  considerable 
risks.  Stations  were  bailed  up,  and  the  inmates  held 
prisoners,  while  the  bushrangers  robbed  them  and  the 
place  of  everything  they  could  carry  oft'.  It  was  not  an 
uncommon  thing  for  these  lawless  men  to  compel  the 
runholder’s  wife  or  daughter  to  sit  down  at  the  piano 
and  play  while  they  either  sang  or  danced  to  the 
involuntary  music.  And  they  have  been  known  to 
carry  on  their  orgies  for  two  or  three  days  and  nights 
before  they  decamped.  Time  and  again  they  have 
stuck  up  banks  in  broad  daylight,  and  got  clean  away 
with  all  the  money  they  could  lay  their  hands  on,  whilst 
the  bank  officials,  gagged  and  tied,  were  unable  to  raise 
any  alarm.  The  robbers,  with  loaded  revolvers  in  their 
hands,  bailed  up  any  customers  who  might  come  in, 
and  secured  them  likewise.  They  ransacked  the  place, 
took  all  the  notes  and  gold  that  were  available,  and 
then  rode  off.  They  have  been  even  known  to  bail 
up  police  stations  and  carry  off  all  the  arms  and  ammu- 
nition they  wanted.  There  was  no  limit  to  their 
audacity,  and  when  they  chanced  to  get  possession  of 
a licensed  house,  as  they  often  did,  wild  excitement 
followed,  and  the  orgies  were  kept  up  for  a whole  night 
or  two,  no  one  daring  to  leave  the  premises  all  that  time. 
The  most  noted  of  these  bushrangers  were  Captain 


BUSHRANGING 


97 

Melville,  Daniel  Morgan,  Harry  Power,  Macgregor ' 
{alias  the  Wild  Scotchman),  John  Dunn,  John  Gilbert, 
Ben  Hall,  Fred  Ward  {alias  Captain  Thunderbolt), 
Frank  Gardiner  (the  hero  of  Rolf  Boldrewood’s  novel, 
‘‘Robbery  Under  Arms”),  and  the  Kelly  Gang.  It 
took  a long  time  to  get  the  upper  hand  of  these  desperate 
characters  and  the  gangs  they  directed,  but  by  degrees 
they  were  shot  down  or  captured,  and  either  hanged  or 
sentenced  to  penal  servitude  for  lengthened  terms. 
Boldrewood’s  hero  got  32  years,  but  was  released  in 
1874  on  condition  that  he  left  the  Colony.  Gardiner 
went  to  America.  The  Kelly  gang  was  the  last  of  any 
magnitude  that  had  to  be  disposed  of,  and  its  end  was  a 
very  tragic  one.  The  gang  had  sallied  down  from  the 
Wombat  Ranges,  and  in  broad  daylight  stuck  up  a bank 
in  Euroa,  getting  clean  away  with  the  booty.  After- 
wards all  the  gang  except  its  leader,  Ned  Kelly,  took 
possession  of  the  public-house  at  Glenrowan,  making 
prisoners  of  all  the  inmates  and  carrying  on  scenes  of 
the  wildest  dissipation,  drinking  and  dancing,  and 
occasionally  threatening  the  inmates  with  their  revolvers. 
Of  course,  no  one  dared  to  leave  the  premises  ; but  a 
schoolmaster,  who  had  seen  where  the  bushrangers  had 
torn  up  the  rails  in  order  to  wreck  a train,  not  only  gave 
information  in  time  to  prevent  that  disaster,  but  to 
summon  a strong  force  of  police  from  Melbourne.  These 
surrounded  the  public-house  at  Glenrowan — shortly 
afterwards  visited  by  the  author — and  called  upon  the 
gang  to  surrender.  No  answer  being  made  to  the 
summons,  the  police  fired  into  the  building,  and  while 
doing  so  Ned  Kelly  emerged  from  the  bush  heavily 
armed,  and  began  firing  at  the  police.  The  latter 
returned  his  fire,  but  to  their  surprise  none  of  the 
shots  took  effect.  A closer  examination  showed  that 
Kelly  had  on  a suit  of  armour  made  out  of  plough- 
shares. An  unprotected  portion  of  his  leg  was  then 

8 


98 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


aimed  at,  a bullet  penetrated  his  leg,  and  he  fell.  Then 
he  was  immediately  surrounded  and  taken  prisoner, 
tried  shortly  afterwards  in  Melbourne  and  executed. 
When  the  public-house  was  entered,  it  was  discovered 
that  all  the  members  of  the  gang  had  been  shot  dead. 
Fortunately,  none  of  the  inmates  had  been  injured,  but  a 
boy  in  the  house  opposite  was  struck  by  a bullet  from 
the  gang  intended  for  the  police.  This  tragic  extinction 
of  the  Kelly  gang  may  be  said  to  have  put  an  end  to 
bushranging  in  Australia  ; and,  although  many  cases  of 
highway  robbery  under  arms  have  since  occurred,  still 
bushranging,  as  it  was  formerly  known,  is  a dreaded 
institution  of  the  past,  and  people  can  now  travel  about 
that  country  with  as  much  safety  as  in  any  other  part  of 
the  world.  But  in  the  suppression  of  bushranging  many 
lives  were  lost,  and  the  police  and  settlers  often  incurred 
great  personal  risks  in  the  capture  of  the  outlaws. 
Several  signal  acts  of  courage  on  the  part  of  the  police 
were  rewarded  by  money  grants  and  well-deserved  pro- 
motions, and  in  most  cases  where  civilians  rendered 
valuable  assistance,  their  co-operation  was  recognised  in 
a liberal  spirit  by  the  authorities.  But  for  the  resolute 
policy  of  extermination  determined  on  by  the  Govern- 
ments of  the  respective  Colonies,  and  the  help  rendered 
to  the  police  by  colonists  themselves,  bushranging 
would  have  been  going  on  till  this  day.  It  was  one  of 
the  worst  relics  of  the  old  convict  system. 

In  Van  Diemen’s  Land  one  of  the  most  troublesome 
bushrangers  of  olden  times  was  Michael  Howe,  who  was 
shot  dead  in  i8i8.  Others  of  less  notoriety  followed, 
and  were  either  captured  or  shot ; and  in  later  years 
Martin  Cash,  who  may  be  termed  the  Dick  Turpin  of 
Van  Diemen’s  Land,  was  the  hero  of  the  most  astound- 
ing enterprises  and  escapes.  Later  still,  Mooney  and 
Quigley  were  the  reigning  terrors  of  the  island  ; and 
when  the  author  saw  them  nearly  twenty  years  ago  they 


BUSHRANGING 


99 


were  both  inmates  of  the  criminal  lunatic  asylum  at  The 
Cascades  in  Hobart.  Mooney,  white-headed  and  bed- 
ridden, never  gave  his  tongue  a rest  from  oaths  and 
profanities  of  the  vilest  kind,  and  was  most  troublesome 
to  his  keepers.  Quigley,  uncommonly  tall  and  of 
powerful  frame,  was  not  much  better  than  the  wretch 
in  the  adjoining  cell,  and  as  his  mania  was  homicidal  the 
keepers  required  to  keep  a vigilant  watch  over  his 
movements.  Mooney  and  Quigley  were  two  of  the 
most  bloodthirsty  scoundrels  who  had  ever  taken  to  the 
bush  in  Van  Diemen's  Land.  Other  bushrangers,  who 
were  known  never  to  have  taken  life,  either  surrendered 
or  were  captured  from  time  to  time,  and,  after  undergoing 
sentences  of  penal  servitude,  became  peaceable  and 
prosperous  settlers.  In  company  with  Inspector  Tedder, 
the  author  once  visited  an  ex-bushranger,  for  whose 
capture  a substantial  reward  was  at  one  time  offered. 
He  was  now  a well-to-do  and  peaceable  farmer  on  a 
holding  under  the  shadow  of  Mount  Wellington.  He 
conversed  freely  about  scenes  he  had  passed  through  in 
his  bushranging  days,  and  stated  that  nothing  but  the 
cruelties  he  had  suffered  in  the  penal  stations  would 
have  induced  him  to  escape  and  take  to  the  bush.  He 
had  settled  down  on  his  farm  and  prospered,  but  nothing 
could  induce  the  old  man  to  abandon  his  old  house  and 
take  up  his  quarters  in  the  substantial  edifice  adjoining 
it  which  had  been  erected  by  his  family.  Rifle  in  hand, 
he  made  frequent  excursions  into  the  bush,  and  his  only 
regret  was  that  'possums  and  other  game  had  become  so 
scarce.  There  were  several  others  like  him  to  be  met 
with  in  Tasmania,  ex-bushrangers  for  whose  capture 
rewards  had  been  offered,  the  after  parts  of  whose  lives 
were  as  peaceable  and  prosperous  as  that  old  man's,  and 
ending  their  days  contented,  comfortable  and  well-off. 
Since  then  most  of  them  must  have  passed  away  ; but 
while  they  lived  they  made  no  effort  to  disguise  their 


loo 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


antecedents ; on  the  contrary,  they  rather  liked  to  talk 
about  old  times,  and  very  entertaining  their  narrations 
were  of  events  in  which  they  took  a prominent  part 
during  the  period  of  their  outlawry.  Martin  Cashes 
career  must  have  been  full  of  thrilling  episodes  and 
tragic  situations,  but  he  was  dead  before  the  author's 
first  visit  to  Van  Diemen's  Land.  For  courage,  dash 
and  intrepidity,  he  is  still  remembered  as  a colossal 
figure  amongst  the  bushrangers  of  the  past,  and  the 
authorities  are  more  blamed  than  himself  for  the  turn 
given  to  his  life. 

In  New  Zealand,  bushranging  never  obtained  any 
lasting  foothold,  although  in  the  earlier  days  its  natural 
features  afforded  many  facilities  for  its  existence.  This 
exemption  from  gangs  of  this  description  must  be  attri- 
buted to  the  fact  that  no  penal  station  was  ever  permitted 
on  its  shores.  It  was  settled  by  a free  population,  and 
its  early  colonists  lent  their  fellow-countrymen  in 
Australia  valuable  help  in  the  movement  of  the 
Australasian  Alliance  to  put  an  end  to  transportation. 
A liberated  felon  from  Victoria,  named  Henry  Garrett, 
went  to  New  Zealand  and  tried  his  hand  at  bushranging 
there,  but  his  career  was  a short  one.  The  Burgess  and 
Kelly  gang,  also  released  felons  from  the  ‘‘  other  side  " 
(as  Australia  is  called)  took  to  the  roads  and  committed 
numerous  robberies  and  murders  before  falling  into  the 
hands  of  justice;  but  the  police  were  soon  on  their  track, 
and  arrested  the  whole  gang  at  Nelson  after  the  hideous 
tragedy  of  Maungatapu.  One  of  them  (Sullivan)  turned 
Queen's  evidence,  and  the  four  others  were  executed, 
the  informer  eventually  being  smuggled  out  of  the 
colony.  The  fact  that  no  New  Zealander  ever  took 
to  the  bush  as  a desperado  proves  pretty  clearly  that 
bushranging  in  the  other  Colonies  originated  from 
convictism,  and  that  if  they  had  been  kept  clear  of  that 
taint  they  might  have  escaped  the  scourge  in  the  same 


BUSHRANGING 


lOl 


way  as  Maoriland.  When  liberated  felons  from  other 
Colonies  attempted  to  carry  on  similar  practices,  it  is  to 
New  Zealand’s  credit  to  say  that  it  made  very  short 
work  of  them. 


CHAPTER  XI 

THE  GOLDEN  ERA 

Although  at  a very  early  period  of  the  last 
century  gold  was  positively  known  to  exist  in 
Australia,  nearly  fifty  years  elapsed  before  the  outside 
world  was  made  acquainted  with  the  marvellous  dis- 
coveries of  the  precious  metal  in  New  South  Wales  and 
Victoria.  Long  ago  it  was  known  to  the  prison 
authorities  that  gold  was  to  be  found  by  looking  for  it, 
but  there  were  then  excellent  reasons  for  observing  as 
much  secrecy  about  the  matter  as  possible,  and  therefore 
no  attempt  was  made  to  prospect  the  country.  They 
feared  that  if  this  were  done  and  it  was  found  that  gold 
could  be  unearthed  in  payable  quantities,  they  would 
have  great  difficulty  in  keeping  watch  over  the  penal 
stations.  Already  numerous  escapes  had  been  made 
without  any  such  incentive,  and  they  reckoned  that  if 
their  prisoners  became  aware  that  gold  was  to  be  had 
for  the  picking  of  it  up,  they  would  be  unable  to  keep 
them  in  subjection  without  strongly  reinforcing  the 
number  of  guards,  and  even  then  numbers  would 
manage  to  relieve  themselves  of  their  fetters.  It  was 
known  also  to  some  of  the  early  settlers  that  gold  had 
been  found  in  several  localities,  but,  like  the  prison 
officials,  they  had  substantial  reasons  for  secrecy.  They 

had  assigned  convicts  in  their  service.  Their  farms  and 

102 


THE  GOLDEN  ERA 


103 


grazing  areas  were  yielding  satisfactory  profits,  and  they 
were  content  to  leave  well  alone.  They  knew  that  once 
the  cry  of  “ Gold ! Gold ! ” was  raised,  their  assigned 
servants  would  immediately  throw  their  tickets-of-leave 
to  the  winds  and  abscond  to  the  places  which  they 
supposed  would  yield  them  endless  riches.  No  one 
would  be  left  to  do  the  work  on  their  farms  and 
grazing  runs,  and  how  to  carry  them  on  under  such 
circumstances  was  a condition  of  things  which  they  had 
no  desire  to  precipitate  by  revealing  the  information 
they  possessed.  There  was  little  or  no  free  labour 
available,  and  what  there  was  would  depart  as  soon  as 
it  became  known  that  gold  was  found  to  exist  in 
payable  quantities.  They  knew  also  that  if  a goldfield 
were  proclaimed,  the  population  attracted  from  the 
outside  world  would  make  straight  for  it,  and  that 
consequently  any  influx  of  labour  that  might  set  in 
would  not  be  available.  The  spectacle  of  farms 
untilled  and  stocks  untended  was  one  which  they  did 
not  like  to  face,  because  it  meant  absolute  ruin  to 
themselves.  For  these  reasons  gold-seeking  was  not 
resorted  to  as  an  occupation  by  the  early  settlers,  and 
the  secret  of  its  existence  was  well  observed.  It  never 
struck  them  that  a large  increase  of  population  would 
have  its  compensations ; that  it  would  increase  the 
value  of  their  properties  and  the  prices  of  produce,  and 
that  they  would  be  certain  to  find  plenty  of  labour  at 
their  disposal  as  soon  as  the  first  great  rush  was  over 
and  numbers  found  that  they  could  do  better  for  them- 
selves at  other  occupations  than  gold-seeking.  But, 
ignorant  of  what  the  results  were  likely  to  be,  because 
their  experience  had  never  demonstrated  to  them  what 
a goldfield  really  meant,  they  dreaded  such  a discovery 
above  all  things,  and  kept  their  knowledge  to  them- 
selves. 

But  a time  was  to  come  at  last  when  their  secrecy 


104  AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 

would  not  avail  them,  when  there  was  to  be  a rush  from 
the  Colonies  instead  of  a strong  inflow  of  population  to 
their  shores.  The  discovery  of  gold  in  California,  and 
the  accounts  of  the  great  finds  in  that  country  which 
were  wafted  to  the  Colonies,  caused  a great  commotion 
in  all  colonial  communities.  Thousands  wanted  to  be 
off,  and  all  who  could  go  took  passage  at  the  earliest 
opportunity.  Amongst  those  who  went  to  California 
were  Mr.  Hargreaves,  from  New  South  Wales,  and  Mr. 
J.  W.  Esmond,  from  Victoria,  and  a very  serious 
denudation  of  colonial  population  had  set  in.  Neither 
Mr.  Hargreaves  nor  Mr.  Esmond  remained  long  in 
California,  but  long  enough  to  convince  them  that  the 
country  and  the  soil  where  gold  was  found  in  California 
bore  a very  strong  resemblance  to  the  country  and  soil 
in  New  South  Wales  and  Victoria;  and,  after  seeing 
California,  the  author  is  not  surprised  that  they  were 
both  so  deeply  impressed  with  their  similarity.  Both 
gentlemen  returned  to  their  respective  Colonies,  strong 
in  the  conviction  that  payable  gold  was  to  be  found 
there.  And  soon  this  was  proved  to  be  the  case.  The 
emigration  to  California  was  immediately  checked,  and 
a rush  took  place  to  the  Colonies  as  soon  as  the  news 
got  abroad,  which  had  the  effect  of  increasing  the 
population  enormously  within  a few  months.  This  was 
in  1851.  A new  era,  the  golden  era  of  Australian 
history,  began.  As  successful  rushes  to  Bendigo, 
Ballarat,  Eaglehawk,  Mount  Alexander,  Forest  Creek, 
and  other  localities  developed  extraordinary  discoveries 
of  the  precious  metal,  the  scenes  in  Melbourne,  Sydney, 
lirisbane,  Adelaide,  Tasmania,  and  New  Zealand  were 
wildly  exciting.  In  the  chief  Australian  cities  and 
towns,  lawyers  abandoned  their  wigs  and  gowns  and  set 
off  for  the  goldfields,  to  follow  up  what  particular  rush 
or  rushes  attracted  them  most.  Most  bank  clerks,  office 
clerks,  lawyers'  clerks,  drapers’  and  grocers’  assistants 


THE  GOLDEN  ERA 


loS 

threw  up  their  situations  and  shouldered  their  swags, 
with  shovels,  tin  pans,  pannikins,  and  other  utensils 
necessary  for  roughing  it  on  the  goldfields.  Artisans 
and  labourers  of  all  descriptions  went  off  with  a bound  ; 
while  ships'  crews  deserted  their  ships,  and  ships' 
officers,  and  in  some  instances  captains  even,  took 
French  leave  of  their  vessels. 

In  fact,  there  was  scarcely  a person  to  be  found  of 
whom  the  gold  fever  had  not  taken  a strong  and  unre- 
laxing grasp.  Melbourne  was  almost  deserted  at  the 
beginning  of  this  astounding  rush  into  the  interior,  and 
Sydney  was  little  better,  because  the  gold  discoveries  in 
New  South  Wales  had  the  effect  of  rendering  that  city 
comparatively  empty  of  those  who  were  able  to  rough 
it.  But  it  was  Melbourne  which  was  the  focus  of 
excitement.  Business  of  all  kinds  was  paralysed  for  a 
time,  and  vessels  were  detained  in  the  bay  for  several 
months  because  crews  could  not  be  found  to  man  them, 
notwithstanding  that  the  wages  offered  were  most 
tempting.  Everything  that  Bayard  Taylor  wrote  of 
the  rush  to  California  might  be  repeated  with  regard  to 
Victoria.  Ships  crowded  with  passengers  soon  began 
to  arrive  from  every  conceivable  corner  of  the  globe. 
What  with  returned  and  disappointed  gold-seekers,  and 
the  arrivals  from  abroad,  the  housing  accommodation 
was  taxed  beyond  its  capacity,  and  tents  had  to  be 
resorted  to.  What  a sight  Emerald  Hill  presented 
in  those  days,  with  almost  every  bit  of  its  available 
space  covered  with  these  canvas  habitations  of  intending 
diggers  whom  the  news  had  attracted  to  Victoria  ! 
Gradually  they  moved  off,  and  later  arrivals  located 
themselves  temporarily  on  that  same  old  Emerald  Hill. 
Every  article  of  use  or  consumption  jumped  to  an 
enormous  price;  but,  as  abundance  of  gold  was  being 
unearthed  in  the  interior,  there  was  plenty  of  money  in 
circulation,  and  few  arrived  without  ready  money  in 


io6  AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 

their  pockets.  Business  being  restored,  rapid  fortunes 
were  made  in  the  city,  whilst  on  the  diggings  themselves 
money  was  made  so  fast  that  it  was  spent  most  lavishly. 
Improvidence  and  extravagance  became  general,  and 
many  there  were  who  thought  little  of  lighting  their 
pipes  with  notes.  As  an  example  of  the  extravagant 
folly  indulged  in,  it  may  be  mentioned  as  a positive  fact 
that  on  one  occasion  a newly-elected  member  of  parlia- 
ment for  a goldfields  constituency  was  sent  down  to 
Melbourne  upon  a horse  which  was  shod  with  shoes  of 
solid  gold.  It  was  also  quite  a common  occurrence  in 
dancing  saloons,  concert-halls  and  theatres,  for  diggers 
to  throw  upon  the  stage  large  sums  of  money  and  often 
gold  nuggets  to  mark  their  appreciation  of  the  per- 
formances of  the  ladies  they  admired  most  as  dancers, 
singers,  or  actresses. 

Great  nuggets  were  found,  some  of  them  exposed  on 
the  surface.  The  Victorian  goldfields  were  poor  men’s 
diggings  in  those  days,  and  many  of  the  claims  on  the 
various  rushes  yielded  magnificent  returns.  The  gold 
was  easily  got  then  by  those  who  were  lucky  enough  to 
strike  upon  a good  patch  of  ground,  and  a large  pro- 
portion of  the  diggers  were  exceedingly  fortunate. 
Most  things  were  paid  for  in  nuggets,  or  gold  dust,  even 
after  the  banks  had  established  branches  in  the  localities. 
Dancing  saloons  on  these  rushes  could  be  counted  by 
dozens,  crowded  nightly,  everybody  spending  money  as 
though  they  could  not  dispossess  themselves  of  it  fast 
enough.  It  was  easily  earned  and  parted  with  in  the 
most  reckless  fashion  by  those  who  were  intoxicated  by 
the  thought  of  this  amazingly  sudden  acquisition  of  com- 
parative wealth.  They  gave  no  thought  to  the  possibility 
of  the  supply  coming  to  an  end,  and  squandered  it  under 
the  belief  that  they  could  never  possibly  become  poor 
men  again.  What  fortunes,  to  be  sure,  were  scattered  to 
the  winds!  and  how  m^ny  lived  to  repent  bitterly  of  their 


THE  GOLDEN  ERA 


107 


childish  folly ! The  great  majority  of  those  who  went 
poor  men  to  the  diggings  came  away  poorer  than  ever 
— men  who  could  have  made  enough  to  keep  them  even 
in  luxury  for  the  remainder  of  their  days,  if  they  had 
only  known  how  to  retain  what  they  extracted  from 
their  claims.  But  in  their  wild  delirium  of  excitement 
they  literally  threw  it  away.  That  has  been  the  pre- 
vailing characteristic  of  all  gold  rushes — the  few  make 
rapid  fortunes  and  the  majority  leave  them  without  a 
penny.  The  Victorian  alluvial  diggings  yielded  abun- 
dantly for  a long  time  ; but,  when  it  came  to  quartz- 
reefing,  the  poor  man’s  chances  were  past,  and,  although 
the  gold  returns  of  that  Colony  are  still  very  considerable, 
as  a rule,  the  poor  man  is  only  a wage-earner,  his  labour 
providing  handsome  dividends  for  the  companies  and 
syndicates  who  own  the  reefs.  The  total  yield  of  gold 
in  Australia  between  the  years  1851  and  1885  was  no 
less  than  68,406,511  ounces,  worth  ^267,991,293  ! 

Ballarat,  Bendigo,  and  many  other  localities  were  still 
what  could  be  termed  poor  men’s  diggings — in  fact, 
they  were  at  their  zenith  of  productiveness  at  the  time 
when  an  extraordinary  event  happened  at  Ballarat,  in 
1854.  Great  dissatisfaction  prevailed  with  regard  to 
the  goldfields  regulations,  which  stipulated  that  each 
digger  should  pay  a fee  of  30s.  a month  for  his  license, 
and  the  diggers  were  also  incensed  at  the  way  in  which 
the  authorities  harassed  them  in  their  hunts  after  non- 
holders of  these  licenses.  They  considered  that  the 
charge  should  be  an  annual  instead  of  a monthly 
one,  and  indignation  meetings  were  held  with  a view 
to  having  their  demands  complied  with.  The  diggers 
chose  as  their  leader  an  Irishman  of  uncommonly  high 
stature  and  powerful  physique.  His  name  was  Peter 
Lalor,  and,  looking  at  him  and  knowing  his  tempera- 
ment and  educational  attainments,  one  would  incline  to 
the  opinion  that,  while  he  was  about,  the  choice  of  a 


io8  AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 

leader  in  any  agitation  could  fall  upon  no  other  man. 
The  excitement  became  intense ; the  licenses  were 
publicly  burnt,  and  the  upshot  was  that  the  miners 
erected  a sort  of  stockade  on  Bakery  Hill,  and  there 
defied  the  authorities.  A conflict  between  the  miners 
and  the  troops  and  police  eventuated  (Sunday  morning, 
December  3rd),  and  in  the  melee  that  ensued  some  lives 
were  lost  on  both  sides,  and  Peter  Lalor  was  wounded 
near  the  shoulder  of  his  left  arm.  He  was  carried  away 
and  concealed  by  his  friends,  but  his  wound  was  of  such 
a serious  nature  that  the  arm  had  to  be  amputated.  A 
reward  was  offered  for  his  arrest,  but  no  one  was  ever 
forthcoming  to  claim  it.  After  a time  matters  cooled 
down  ; satisfactory  regulations  were  introduced,  and  the 
gold-mining  industry  progressed  without  further  inter- 
ruption. Mr.  Lalor  afterwards  became  a Minister  of 
the  Crown  in  the  two  Administrations  presided  over 
by  Mr.  Graham  Berry,  and  wound  up  his  career  as  a 
public  man  as  Speaker  of  the  Legislative  Assembly  of 
Victoria. 

The  discovery  of  gold  in  New  South  Wales  by 
Mr.  Hargreaves  in  1851,  and  shortly  afterwards  by 
Mr.  Esmond  and  other  prospectors  in  Victoria,  had 
wonderful  effects  upon  Australian  colonisation.  The 
population  increased  to  an  enormous  extent  within  a 
few  years.  Settlement  extended  in  all  directions,  and 
the  foundations  were  laid  of  what  have  since  become 
large  and  permanently  built  cities  in  the  interior. 
People  generally  are  conversant  with  the  gold  dis- 
coveries in  Queensland,  and  the  subsequent  develop- 
ments at  Broken  Hill  and  in  Western  Australia  in 
recent  years.  All  these  rich  finds  have  given  an 
increased  impetus  to  Australian  colonisation,  and  owing 
to  these  causes  the  rate  of  progress  has  been  so  great 
during  the  last  fifty  years  as  to  leave  no  doubt  that  the 
next  half-century  will  show  more  wonderful  develop- 


THE  GOLDEN  ERA 


109 


ments  still.  Settlement  is  advancing  so  vigorously — 
that  is,  bona-fide  occupation  of  the  soi^ — and  industries 
of  various  kinds  have  taken  such  root,  that  even  if  the 
gold  output  were  to  cease  to-morrow — a most  impro- 
bable contingency  for  generations  to  come — Australia 
would  forge  its  way  steadily  ahead.  But  it  cannot  be 
denied  that  it  is  to  gold  that  Australia  owes  the  greater 
part  of  its  present  vigorous  life  and  prosperity.  With 
wool  as  its  staple  export,  and  without  the  gold  rushes 
that  began  in  1851,  its  progress  would  have  been  by 
slow  degrees,  and  probably  its  population  might  now  be 
counted  by  thousands  instead  of  millions. 


CHAPTER  Xll 


NATURAL  FEATURES  OF  THE  AUSTRALIAN 
CONTINENT  AND  TASMANIA 

NY  one  would  undertake  a task  of  great  magnitude 


jL\.  if  he  attempted  to  describe  with  detailed  particu- 
larity the  natural  features  of  such  an  extensive  continent 
as  Australia  and  the  adjacent  island  which  from  its 
northermost  coast  lies  in  close  proximity  to  it ; because 
fifteen  hours  by  steam  will  suffice  to  take  the  traveller 
from  Melbourne  to  Launceston,  and  a good  portion  of 
the  time  is  consumed  in  the  passage  from  Low  Heads 
to  that  beautifully-situated  town  many  miles  up  the 
winding,  and,  in  some  parts,  expansive  Tamar.  Any 
such  elaborate  description  would  swell  this  volume  into 
somewhat  unwieldy  dimensions,  and  for  that  reason  it 
must  necessarily  be  curtailed.  In  this  epitomised  version 
the  author  will  endeavour  to  convey  such  a general  out- 
line of  the  physical  features  of  both  countries  as  will 
give  a tolerably  good  idea  of  what  Australia  and 
Tasmania  are  really  like,  and  demonstrate  what  vast 
advantages  they  offer  for  the  support  of  millions  and 
millions  of  people  who  at  one  time  or  another  must  be 
provided  with  outlets  from  the  congested  communities 
of  the  old  world,  especially  those  of  Great  Britain. 

Generally  speaking,  the  greatest  island  continent  on 
the  earth’s  surface  is  not  what  can  be  described  as  a 


1 10 


NATURAL  FEATURES 


III 


very  broken  or  mountainous  country.  Its  flat  expanses 
are  most  extensive,  resembling  in  a great  measure  the 
rolling  prairie  to  the  eastward  of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 
There  is  this  characteristic  about  the  mountainous  por- 
tions of  Australia — that  none  of  these  elevations  rise  to 
anything  like  the  altitude  of  the  great,  eternally  snow- 
clad  peaks  of  Mount  Cook,  Mount  Egmont,  or 
Ruapehu  in  New  Zealand.  What  mountains  there  are 
in  Australia  of  the  greatest  elevation  are  upon  the  eastern 
side  of  the  Continent  ; but  not  many  of  the  peaks  rise 
sufficiently  high  to  penetrate  the  region  of  perpetual 
snow,  if  indeed  any  of  them  soar  so  high.  In  the  Omeo 
district  of  Victoria  the  ranges  are  perhaps  more  snow- 
clad  than  in  any  other  part  of  Australia,  and  there  snow 
may  be  seen  for  several  months,  but  not  all  the  year 
round.  There  is  nothing  of  the  Alpine  picturesqueness 
about  Australian  mountain  scenery  that  is  found  to 
gratify  the  eye  of  the  tourist  through  New  Zealand. 
Besides,  a large  part  of  Northern  Australia  lies  within 
the  tropics,  and  a considerable  portion  of  it  is  semi- 
tropical  ; the  remainder  to  the  southward  comes  within 
the  temperate  zone,  and  there  it  is  that  most  advantages 
are  presented  for  settlement  by  people  who  have  been 
accustomed  to  the  climatic  conditions  of  the  northern 
hemisphere.  Much  of  the  territory  in  the  north  and 
north-west  of  the  Continent  will  no  doubt  remain  dreary 
and  useless  for  all  time ; but  these  arid  wastes  are  after 
all  infinitesimal  compared  with  the  illimitable  areas  that 
can  be  turned  into  profitable  occupation  as  the  progress 
of  settlement  by  an  ever-increasing  population  brings 
them  into  demand.  The  discoveries  of  Leichardt,  of 
Burke,  Wills  and  King,  and  other  explorers  have  shown 
that  the  desert  tracts  of  Australia  are  small  in  proportion 
to  the  extensive  territories  that  will  become  quite  as 
useful  to  mankind  as  those  comprised  within  the  exist- 
ing confines  of  civilisation,  and  one  has  only  to  think  of 


II2 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


the  enormous  space  that  is  available  for  close  settlement 
to  realise  the  great  future  that  lies  before  Australia. 

The  one  great  drawback  to  Australia  is  the  remark- 
able absence  of  navigable  rivers  from  its  coasts  into  the 
interior,  and  the  consequent  difficulty  of  carrying  out 
any  general  scheme  of  irrigation  to  compensate  for 
natural  deficiencies.  In  many  districts  irrigation  will 
be  possible — in  such,  for  instance,  as  the  Mallee,  in  Vic- 
toria, where  it  has  been  most  successful  ; but  it  must 
yet  be  left  to  man’s  ingenuity  to  devise  a scheme  for 
irrigating  country  lying  at  great  distances  from  the  one 
truly  great  river  which  Australia  can  boast  of,  and  which 
may  be  called  the  Mississippi  of  the  Continent,  namely, 
the  Murray.  This  is  fed  by  numerous  tributaries,  but, 
owing  to  the  evaporation  that  goes  on  during  the  long 
and  hot  summer  months,  most  of  these  tributaries  get 
dried  up,  and,  of  course,  the  depth  of  the  Murray  itself 
is  visibly  affected  ; so  much  so,  indeed,  as  to  render  it 
temporarily  unnavigable  in  parts  for  weeks  and  even 
months  at  a stretch  during  seasons  of  drought.  Rising 
in  what  are  called  the  Australian  Alps,  the  Murray  runs 
across  the  Continent  for  a distance  of  2,345  miles,  and 
empties  into  Encounter  Bay,  in  the  Indian  Ocean.  For 
a very  considerable  distance  its  course  is  between  New 
South  Wales  and  Victoria — it  is  the  dividing  boundary, 
and  custom-house  offices  are  located  on  both  sides  of  the 
river,  but  these  will  shortly  disappear  when  the  Common- 
wealth adopts  its  universal  tariff ; then  it  passes  through 
South  Australia,  and  continues  its  course  onward  to  the 
ocean  through  Lake  Alexandrina.  The  Darling,  in 
New  South  Wales,  is  one  of  its  principal  tributaries. 
The  Goulburn,  Loddon,  Murrumbidgee,  Lachlan,  Barwan, 
Culgoa,  and  Warrego  are  big  rivers  which  flow  into  the 
Murray,  and  it  also  absorbs  all  the  northern  streams 
from  the  mountains  of  Victoria,  as  well  as  all  the  south- 
western rivers  from  the  highlands  in  the  east.  In 


NATURAL  FEATURES 


113 

Queensland  the  two  most  important  streams  are  the 
Fitzroy  and  Budekin,  but  generally  speaking  the  rivers 
to  the  east  of  the  eastern  hills  are  swift  and  shallow 
watercourses,  useless  for  purposes  of  navigation.  The 
Hawkesbury,  in  New  South  Wales,  is  one  of  the  few 
rivers  on  the  eastern  coast  which  is  navigable  for  a good 
distance,  and  the  scenery  upon  it  is  amongst  the  most 
charming  in  the  whole  Continent.  Down  in  Gippsland 
two  fine  streams  flow  into  the  lakes,  notably  the  Tambo 
and  the  Mitchell.  These  are  two  of  the  very  few  rivers 
in  Australia  whose  waters  are  clear  and  bright,  and  the 
traveller  in  search  of  beautiful  scenery  will  find  much  to 
interest  him  in  a trip  up  the  Tambo  or  up  the  Mitchell 
as  far  as  Bairnsdale.  Nearly  all  the  country  adjacent  to 
the  rivers  on  the  eastern  side  consists  of  grassy  uplands, 
which  afford  excellent  pasture,  and  the  valleys  intersect- 
ing them  consist  of  the  finest  agricultural  land  to  be 
seen  in  any  part  of  the  world.  They  may  be  classified 
as  agricultural  lands  of  the  best  quality.  Detached 
mountains  cross  the  northern  portion  of  Western 
Australia.  These  run  mostly  east  and  west,  and  are 
intersected  by  valleys  of  remarkable  fertility,  known  as 
the  Ashburton,  Gascoyne,  and  Upper  Murchison.  In 
the  interior  of  Western  Australia  there  are  extensive 
mud  steppes.  This  region  is  truly  a desert,  absolutely 
worthless  for  all  time,  because  it  is  almost  entirely 
destitute  of  fresh  water.  The  southern  part  of  Western 
Australia  makes  up  for  this  by  the  fertility  of  the  region 
drained  by  the  Swan  River  and  the  Blackwood  ; and  in 
the  northern  parts  also  vast  tracts  are  at  disposal  for 
settlement  extension.  Taking  Australia  as  a whole, 
there  is  room  for  the  support  of  a far  larger  population 
than  that  of  the  United  States  of  America  to-day,  and 
the  recent  census  tells  us  that  it  has  approached  to 
nearly  eighty  millions  of  people.  The  soil  and  climatic 
conditions  of  Australia  are  so  variable  that  there  is  not 

9 


114 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


a product  known  to  Europe  or  America  that  cannot  be 
produced  in  some  of  its  parts  ; grain,  fruits  and  crops  of 
all  descriptions  can  be  raised  there  in  great  abundance, 
and  there  is  no  land  under  the  sun  which  offers  stronger 
inducements  for  emigration  upon  a large  scale.  Minerals 
of  all  kind  abound  there  ; and  the  coal  measures  of  New 
South  Wales  give  great  encouragement  to  industrial 
enterprise  of  all  sorts.  The  wine  industry  of  New  South 
Wales,  Victoria,  and  South  Australia  has  grown  into 
marvellous  development.  The  frozen  meat  trade  has 
also  grown  apace,  and  there  are  many  other  branches  of 
industry  with  regard  to  which  Australia  has  entered  into 
successful  competition  with  the  outside  world. 

Wool  will  always  form  one  of  the  most  important 
staple  products  of  Australia.  There  are  enormous  areas 
which  must  always  be  devoted  to  pastoral  pursuits,  and 
Australia  owes  much  to  the  squatter  portion  of  the 
community  as  the  real  pioneers  of  colonisation.  Some- 
times their  operations  are  conducted  under  conditions 
the  most  exasperating  and  sadly  to  their  cost.  Even 
so  far  south  as  the  northern  and  western  portions  of 
Victoria,  long  seasons  of  drought  set  in  ; the  streams 
dry  up,  and  the  grass  withers  under  the  scorching  sun. 
At  those  periods  stocks  of  sheep  and  cattle  suffer 
terribly,  and  on  single  runs  the  dead  animals  can  be 
counted  by  the  thousand.  Seasons  of  drought  may 
even  succeed  each  other  for  two  or  three  years,  and  then 
it  means  ruin  to  the  unfortunate  squatter.  That  was 
the  unhappy  fate  of  the  late  Mr.  Hugh  Glass,  whose 
name  was  once  a household  word  in  Australia  on 
account  of  the  vastness  of  his  operations,  and,  but  for 
the  two  or  three  seasons  of  drought  which  overwhelmed 
him,  his  wealth  would  have  been  colossal.  Droughts 
ruined  him,  however,  as  it  has  done  hundreds  of  other 
men  engaged  in  the  same  pursuit.  These  recurring 
seasons  are  the  great  drawback  to  many  portions  of 


NATURAL  FEATURES 


115 

Australia,  and  must  ever  surround  pastoral  pursuits 
with  great  risks.  A man  may  be  wealthy,  and  suddenly 
made  poor,  through  the  loss  of  stock  occasioned  by 
these  much-dreaded  droughts.  If  there  were  more 
rivers  like  the  Murray  flowing  almost  from  one  coast 
to  another,  and,  like  it,  giving  easy  access  to  the  far 
interior,  the  situation  would  be  very  different.  Water 
could  then  be  stored  in  abundance  to  meet  emergencies 
of  this  kind,  and  similar  previously  arid  and  unwatered 
areas  like  the  Mallee  might  be  converted  into  smiling 
and  prosperous  settlements  by  the  process  of  artificial 
irrigation.  Unfortunately,  in  many  parts  of  Australia 
the  difficulties  are  apparently  insurmountable,  and 
pastoralists  will  require  to  go  on  taking  their  chances 
from  year  to  year.  It  is  one  of  the  ups  and  downs  of 
colonial  life,  and  must  be  endured  with  that  philosophy 
which  is  generally  characteristic  of  Australian  colonists. 
Adversity  seldom  crushes  them  ; indeed,  it  generally 
makes  them  try  their  hand  at  something  else,  which 
turns  out  better. 

If  Australia  is  not  such  a well-watered  country  as 
could  be  desired,  it  certainly  does  not  lack  in  timber. 
This  is  in  great  quantity  and  variety  in  all  the  Colonies, 
and  almost  everywhere  it  is  at  the  hand  of  those  who 
take  up  holdings  to  settle  on.  It  is,  of  course,  invaluable 
to  them  for  building  and  fencing  purposes,  as  well  as  for 
supplies  of  firewood  for  their  dwellings.  Timber  is  like- 
wise largely  exported.  The  jarrah  of  Western  Australia 
has  made  a great  reputation  for  itself  throughout  the 
world  on  account  of  its  durability.  No  other  timber 
can  compete  with  it  in  this  respect,  and  it  is  largely 
used  in  the  construction  of  bridges  throughout  the  whole 
of  the  Colonies.  It  has  also  come  into  great  demand  for 
street-paving,  and  many  of  the  streets  of  London  and 
other  large  cities  are  now  being  paved  with  material 
taken  from  the  great  jarrah  forests  of  Western  Australia, 


Ii6  AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 

The  eucalyptus,  or  blue  gum,  grows  to  great  heights  and 
dimensions  in  some  parts  of  Australia,  notably  in  Gipps- 
land.  Of  course,  they  do  not  rival  the  monster  trees  of 
another  species  to  be  seen  in  the  Yosemite  Valley,  but 
they  are  big,  nevertheless  ; and  in  the  Gippsland  bush 
it  is  quite  a common  occurrence  to  come  across  blue- 
gums  soaring  to  an  altitude  of  nearly  four  hundred  feet, 
and  of  considerable  diameter  at  the  bottom.  After  some 
blue  gums  have  been  felled  they  have  been  known  to 
measure  over  four  hundred  feet  as  they  lay  on  the 
ground.  Bush-felling  is  one  of  the  most  dangerous 
occupations  in  Australia,  but  the  men  who  engage  in  it 
are  experts  at  the  business,  and,  except  occasionally, 
come  to  no  harm.  The  new  bush  settler  runs  great 
risks  when,  as  he  must  often  do,  he  starts  bush-felling 
on  his  own  account  to  clear  the  ground  for  his  stock 
and  begin  farming ; but  he  soon  gets  his  hand  in,  works 
cautiously,  and  keeps  out  of  danger.  Out  in  the  back- 
woods  of  Australia  there  is  a great  charm  about  bush 
life,  and  many  remain  there  for  a whole  year  and  longer, 
more  happy  and  contented  than  if  they  were  in  large 
cities.  For  parties  of  young  fellows  who  chum  well 
together  there  can  be  a no  more  healthful  and  invigo- 
rating occupation  than  bush-felling ; hard  work  it 
undoubtedly  is,  but  the  feeling  of  independence  and 
freedom  connected  with  it  is  such  as  to  make  life  in 
the  bush  exceedingly  agreeable.  Country  life  inspires 
manliness  and  self-reliance,  and  this  is  why  the  average 
colonial  can  turn  his  hand  to  anything.  He  can  cook, 
wash,  bake,  build,  ride,  drive,  shoot,  or  do  anything  else 
that  circumstances  require  him  to  perform.  Self-reliance 
makes  him  independent  of  anybody  else,  and  in  this 
respect  the  average  colonial  differs  most  signally  from 
the  young  men  of  older  lands. 

The  scenic  attractions  of  Australia  are  considerable. 
What,  for  example,  could  repay  one  better  than  a trip 


NATURAL  FEATURES  117 

up  the  Hawkesbury  or  across  the  Blue  Mountains  in 
New  South  Wales,  where  he  will  behold  chasms  to 
remind  him  of  the  weirdest  pictures  of  Dore ; or  to  the 
Gippsland  Lakes,  and  inland  to  the  mountainous  regions 
of  the  Omeo  ? Go  where  he  may — to  Queensland,  New 
South  Wales,  South  Australia,  Western  Australia,  or 
Victoria — the  traveller  will  find  scenery  of  the  loveliest 
kind  in  each  of  these  Colonies.  If  it  be  sport  he  is  in 
quest  of,  he  will  not  run  short  of  opportunities  for  pas- 
time in  fishing  or  shooting ; and  if  ornithology  be  his 
hobby,  he  will  find  a wide  field  for  its  indulgence  in 
studying  the  many  varieties  of  the  feathered  tribe  which 
inhabit  the  Australian  bush.  The  habits  of  the  laughing 
jackass  cannot  fail  to  interest  him  particularly.  Their 
chorus  of  laughter  is  one  of  the  most  peculiar  sounds  of 
the  Australian  bush.  Valuable  birds  they  are,  too,  for 
they  are  very  useful  in  destroying  snakes,  and  that  is 
why  they  are  protected  all  the  year  round.  When  these 
birds  “ spot  ” a snake  their  habit  is  for  one  of  them  to 
lay  hold  of  it  in  a part  which  renders  the  snake  powerless 
to  bite ; then  the  laughing  jackass  soars  up  into  the  air 
for  a considerable  distance  with  the  snake  in  its  beak,  and 
lets  it  fall  to  earth  from  an  altitude  which  instinct  tells 
it  is  sufficient  for  the  purpose.  As  soon  as  the  snake 
reaches  ground  it  is  instantly  seized  by  another  of  these 
courageous  little  birds  which  is  patiently  awaiting  the 
opportunity.  Up  into  the  air  the  snake  is  again  carried, 
and  the  same  process  is  repeated  as  often  as  may  be 
required  to  kill  the  snake.  Then  with  a loud  ringing 
chorus  the  laughing  jackasses  seem  to  compliment  them- 
selves upon  their  achievement,  and  go  off  in  search  of 
fresh  prey.  Penalties  are  provided  against  any  one  who 
destroys  these  laughing  jackasses,  but  no  one  would  ever 
dream  of  doing  such  a thing,  knowing  what  little  heroes 
they  are  in  attacking  and  destroying  man's  greatest 
enemy  in  the  Australian  bush. 


ii8 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


The  climate  of  Australia,  in  that  portion  of  it  included 
in  the  temperate  zone,  may  be  generally  described  as 
hot,  dry,  and  very  salubrious.  Within  the  tropics  very 
little  rain  falls  during  the  summer,  and  the  heat  is  intense, 
but  in  the  winter  season  very  welcome  rains  set  in 
occasionally.  It  has  been  observed  that  the  rainfall  is 
greater  on  the  east  than  on  the  west  side  of  the  Con- 
tinent. South  Australia,  Victoria,  and  New  South  Wales 
are  frequently  swept  by  hot,  oppressive  winds  from  the 
interior,  but  New  South  Wales  is  less  subject  to  them 
than  either  South  Australia  or  Victoria.  These  hot 
winds  increase  the  temperature  sometimes  to  115®  and 
120°,  and  when  these  are  suddenly  succeeded,  as  they 
generally  are,  by  strong  ‘‘  southerlies the  thermometer 
falls  to  any  point  between  50°  and  60°.  The  irregularity 
and  uncertainty  of  the  rainfall  in  all  parts  of  Australia 
is  very  marked,  and  droughts  are  of  frequent  occurrence  ; 
but  when  rains  do  set  in  heavily  and  continuously  for 
any  number  of  days  together,  then  floods  are  to  be 
looked  for.  A season  of  drought  may  in  this  way  be 
followed  by  floods  which  are  equally  disastrous  upon  the 
lower  levels.  The  unfortunate  squatter  is  thus  exposed 
to  danger  both  from  the  want  of  and  an  excess  of  water. 

Tasmania  is  a land  which  differs  vastly  in  natural 
features  from  the  great  Continent  it  lies  adjacent  to.  It 
is  more  mountainous,  cooler  in  temperature,  and  blessed 
with  an  abundance  of  water.  Two  lovelier  streams  than 
the  Derwent  and  Tamar  are  not  to  be  found  on  the 
Australasian  side  of  the  Tasman  Sea.  In  the  South 
from  Cape  Pillar  to  the  Iron  Pot  one  sails  up  a great 
arm  of  the  sea,  but  from  the  Iron  Pot  to  Hobart  the 
Derwent  is  a charming  waterway  to  the  colony’s  capital. 
Beyond  Hobart  the  Derwent  gives  access  to  the  interior 
for  many  miles,  its  banks  sometimes  wide  apart  and 
then  narrowing  to  mere  clefts  in  the  towering  rocks 
through  which  it  finds  a passage.  Between  Hobart  and 


NATURAL  FEATURES 


119 

New  Norfolk  it  is  one  continuous  panorama  of  scenic 
loveliness,  and  beyond  that,  too,  there  are  stretches  of 
scenery  which  it  would  be  difficult  to  describe  without 
laying  one’s  self  open  to  a suspicion  of  exaggeration. 
The  banks  of  the  Derwent  from  the  aforesaid  Iron  Pot 
to  the  city  are  likewise  charming  to  behold.  All  the 
uplands  from  its  shores  to  within  the  shadows  of  lofty 
Mount  Wellington,  with  its  organ  pipes  displaying  them- 
selves in  bold  and  distinct  outline,  are  occupied  by 
homesteads,  and  the  lands  themselves  are  in  a high  state 
of  cultivation  ; the  houses  look  neat,  cleanly,  and  com- 
modious as  a rule,  and  the  farms  are  evidently  kept  in 
a way  to  remind  one  of  the  most  presentable  of  the 
rural  districts  in  England  itself  Go  in  any  direction 
one  may  from  Hobart,  he  will  pass  through  scenery 
which  delights  the  eye  at  every  turn.  The  cascades  are 
of  course  the  first  resort  of  most  tourists  ; then  a trip  up 
Mount  Wellington  to  the  Ploughed  Field,  as  its  rocky 
flats  near  the  summit  are  called,  down  again  to  Fern 
Tree  Bower  at  the  base  and  back  to  the  city — enough 
for  one  day.  The  next,  a most  enjoyable  drive  to 
Brown’s  River,  up  hill  and  down  dale,  and  through 
occasional  flat  stretches  heavily  timbered  on  each  side 
of  the  macadamised  road  which  convict  labour  had  a 
hand  in  constructing  many  decades  back.  And  if  the 
tourist  desires  to  see  still  more  of  Tasmanian  scenery  to 
feast  his  eyes  on,  let  him  go  to  the  Huon  as  far  as 
Franklin,  so  named  after  Sir  John  of  Arctic  fame,  who 
was  Tasmania’s  Governor  up  to  a period  shortly  ante- 
cedent to  his  ill-starred  expedition  to  the  North  Pole. 
It  is  many  years  now  since  the  author  traversed  the 
distance  between  Hobart  and  the  Huon,  and  vivid  are 
his  recollections  of  how  skilfully  that  drag,  with  its  four 
spanking  horses,  was  piloted  there  and  back  again  in  the 
darkness  of  night  by  Mr.  Walter  Webster  at  a rattling 
pace  round  a succession  of  sharp  sinuosities  which  pre- 


120 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


sented  great  elements  of  danger  even  in  broad  daylight. 
Walter  was  a great  whip,  one  of  the  very  best  amongst 
the  drivers  of  old  coaching  days,  and  richly  deserved  all 
the  praises  which  the  author  and  the  officers  of  the 
American  man-of-war  Iroquois  bestowed  upon  him  at 
the  end  of  the  homeward  journey  when  they  alighted 
at  Hadley’s.  If  Walter  Webster  be  now  dead,  peace  to 
his  ashes  and  repose  to  his  soul  ; but  if  he  be  still  in  the 
land  of  the  living,  he  has  the  author’s  assurance  that 
neither  himself  nor  the  pleasant  reminiscences  of  that 
day’s  trip  to  the  Huon  have  ever  been  forgotten.  Good 
old  John  Russell,  too,  whose  genial  companionship  and 
hospitality  made  him  one  of  the  most  popular  men  in 
Hobart : how  the  author  wishes  he  could  grip  his  hand 
again,  as  he  hopes  some  day  to  do.  And  Mr.  Redder 
also,  whose  presence  always  added  so  much  to  the 
geniality  of  the  group  of  friends  who  met  so  frequently 
together  nearly  a score  of  years  ago  to  talk  over  old 
Tasmanian  times  and  the  startling  incidents  connected 
with  its  early  history  and  life — will  he  be  still  there  to 
greet  the  wandering  one  and  join  in  a hot  Scotch  for 
the  sake  of  auld  lang  syne?  The  author  sincerely 
hopes  so. 

In  the  northern  part  of  the  island  Nature  has  also 
been  lavish  with  her  gifts.  The  Tamar,  all  the  way 
from  Low  Heads  to  within  two  or  three  miles  of 
Launceston,  is  a noble  stream,  serpentine  in  parts,  with 
occasional  straight  stretches  of  considerable  length,  the 
banks  now  and  then  closing  in,  and  again  opening  out 
wide  enough  to  giv^e  it  the  appearance  of  a lake ; dense 
forest  in  places  down  to  the  water’s  edge  when  the 
author  saw  it,  and  then  extensive  clearings  far  back  on 
either  side  where  farming  operations  were  in  full  swing. 
In  the  vicinity  of  Launceston  there  are  many  spots  of 
exquisite  picturesqueness,  all  of  them  so  lovely  that  it 
is  difficult  to  pronounce  any  material  superiority  of 


NATURAL  FEATURES 


121 


prospect.  So,  indeed,  it  is  with  Tasmania  all  over, 
except  in  the  west,  where  the  coast  is  for  the  most  part 
wild,  barren,  and  inhospitable — piercingly  cold  in  winter 
time,  wet  and  uninviting. 

Tasmania  has  its  fair  share  of  mineral  wealth.  Its 
tin  mines  brought  the  Colony  into  special  prominence 
many  years  ago  and  boomed  it  for  a time,  but  the 
excitement  was  not  of  long  duration,  and  speculation 
brought  ruin  to  many  confident  investors.  The  progress 
of  the  Colony  has  not  been  so  marked  as  in  the  case  of 
others.  The  population  does  not  increase  as  rapidly 
as  might  be  expected  from  the  quantity  of  good 
agricultural  land  which  lies  in  its  fertile  valleys  in  the 
east,  north,  and  south.  The  cause  of  this  is,  that  the 
Colony  does  not  afford  so  many  opportunities  for 
employment  as  the  more  progressive  Colonies  on  the 
continent,  and  a large  proportion  of  Tasmania’s  young 
men  and  women  leave  every  year  for  the  more  exciting 
city  life  of  Sydney  and  Melbourne,  where  they  can 
command  higher  wages  and  procure  steady  occupa- 
tions more  easily.  That  is  why  the  population  does 
not  increase  at  a faster  rate.  Owing  to  its  milder 
climate,  large  numbers  of  well-to-do  Australians  flock 
to  Tasmania  during  the  hot  months,  and  then  Hobart 
is  a city  of  abnormal  bustle  and  activity — that  is,  for 
Hobart,  which  is  generally  regarded  as  hum-drum  to 
the  last  degree  by  the  residents  of  the  big  cities  on  the 
other  side  of  the  straits.  For  all  that,  it  is  a most 
enjoyable  place  to  reside  in  for  those  who  have  no 
ambitious  aims,  and  to  whom  an  easy-going  and  quiet 
existence  is  preferable  to  the  noise  and  bustle  in- 
separable from  city  life  on  the  continent.  The 
temperature  is  much  cooler,  and  the  cost  of  living 
less,  and  these  are  the  two  principal  reasons  which 
induce  so  many  half-pay  officers  to  make  it  their 
abiding-place. 


122 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


The  traveller  cannot  fail  to  be  impressed  with  the 
excellent  quality  of  most  of  the  roads  in  Tasmania.  The 
principal  of  these  were  constructed  by  convict  labour, 
and  no  finer  arterial  highway  can  be  found  anywhere 
than  the  one  which  leads  from  Hobart  to  Launceston, 
a distance  of  about  120  miles,  through  the  heart  of  the 
country.  This  journey  discloses  many  beautiful  land- 
scapes, and  will  give  the  tourist  a good  conception  of 
what  the  natural  configuration  of  Tasmania  as  a whole 
really  is.  This  road  is  not  used  nearly  so  much  as  it 
was  before  railway  communication  was  established 
between  the  northern  town  and  the  capital  in  the 
south  ; but  the  railway  trip  is  tedious  and  comparatively 
uninteresting  until,  coming  from  the  north,  the  descent 
of  the  mountains  is  begun  in  the  vicinity  of  Jerusalem. 
Then  the  view  of  the  thickly-populated  country  districts 
stretching  away  from  the  base  of  the  mountain  steeps, 
and  of  the  ranges  in  the  far  distance,  is  one  of  no 
ordinary  grandeur.  Altogether,  Tasmania  is  a land  of 
natural  beauty  and  fertility  ; and  probably  its  inclusion 
in  the  Australian  Commonwealth  will  enable  it  to 
march  onward  by  more  rapid  strides.  It  certainly 
wants  a push-on  of  some  sort  to  make  it  more  pros- 
perous and  progressive,  and  the  author  is  delighted  to 
learn  that  this  very  desirable  change  in  its  affairs  has 
already  begun. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

AUSTRALIA’S  CAPITALS  AND  PRINCIPAL  TOWNS 

SYDNEY,  because  it  is  older  for  one  thing,  and  was 
for  the  first  half  of  the  last  century  the  great  focus 
of  trade  and  commerce  for  Australian  communities  and 
the  outside  world,  must  claim  precedence  when  one 
comes  to  describe  the  capital  cities  of  the  Continent. 
Without  doubt.  Governor  Phillip  must  have  had  a keen 
perception  of  the  beautiful  in  nature  when  he  selected 
the  site  on  which  Sydney  now  stands  as  the  location  for 
his  first  batch  of  convicts  in  1788.  The  site  consisted 
of  low  hills  and  gullies  clothed  with  bush  to  the  water’s 
edge,  and,  as  no  attempt  was  made  to  lay  out  a town- 
ship upon  any  systematic  plan,  that  accounts  to-day  for 
the  narrowness,  crookedness,  and  other  irregularities  to 
be  observed  in  the  Sydney  of  our  own  time.  Carters 
followed  the  grades  and  windings  up  through  and 
around  those  hills  and  gullies  which  their  intelligence 
suggested  as  the  best  and  most  convenient  to  take,  and 
in  course  of  time  through  constant  use  these  rude  tracks 
came  to  be  regarded  as  the  leading  thoroughfares  of  the 
new  settlement.  Had  professional  skill  been  allowed  to 
have  more  of  its  way  nearly  a century  and  a quarter 
ago,  Sydney  might  have  been  laid  out  more  in  accord- 
ance with  modern  ideas.  It  is  now  too  late  to  repair 
old  mistakes  without  involving  the  expenditure  of  an 

123 


124  AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 

enormous  amount  of  money,  and  the  civic  authorities 
will  not  feel  disposed  to  meddle  with  matters  to  that 
extent.  However,  with  all  these  drawbacks,  Sydney  is 
a fine  city,  with  a situation  that  is  the  envy  of  other 
places  which  do  not  possess  equal  natural  advantages. 
George  Street  has  become  the  main  thoroughfare,  some- 
what narrow  at  its  commencement,  but  of  a good  width 
for  the  remainder  of  its  length.  Streets  intersect  it  right 
and  left,  and  the  elevations  they  lead  to  afford  magnifi- 
cent views  of  the  city  and  its  surroundings.  Pitt  Street, 
Elizabeth  Street,  and  King  Street  are,  like  George 
Street,  the  scenes  of  great  bustle  and  activity.  Many 
grand  and  noble  buildings  are  to  be  seen  in  Sydney, 
and  the  Post  Office  is  a structure  which  the  citizens  are 
very  justly  proud  of  So  they  are  of  their  public  halls, 
banks,  and  churches,  amongst  the  latter  St.  Mary’s 
Roman  Catholic  Cathedral  being  a particularly  noble- 
looking edifice  both  inside  and  out.  But,  because  so 
many  of  its  best  business  premises  and  extensive  ware- 
houses are  located  in  narrow  streets,  Sydney  cannot 
show  off  its  architectural  embellishments  to  the  best 
advantage,  and  it  is  handicapped  to  that  extent  when 
it  is  brought  into  comparison  with  other  cities  of 
Australia  and  of  lands  beyond.  Any  one  can  see  at 
once  that  it  is  a city  of  great  wealth  and  commercial 
enterprise,  and  a stroll  round  Circular  Quay  and  the 
numerous  wharves  jutting  into  the  harbour  will  show 
at  once  the  extensive  nature  of  its  trading  intercourse 
with  other  parts  of  the  world.  Mail  packets,  ocean 
tramps  of  huge  tonnage,  and  vessels  of  all  sorts  and 
sizes  sailing  under  the  flags  of  almost  every  nation  in 
the  civilised  world,  are  to  be  seen  there  either  dis- 
charging their  inward  cargoes  or  loading  with  the 
products  of  New  South  Wales  for  various  intercolonial, 
American,  Canadian,  and  European  ports,  besides  those 
of  South  America,  the  South  Sea  Islands,  Honolulu, 


AUSTRALIA’S  CAPITALS  AND  PRINCIPAL  TOWNS  125 


New  Caledonia,  Tahiti,  South  Africa,  China,  and  Japan. 
What  a transition,  to  be  sure,  from  things  as  they 
existed  little  more  than  a century  ago ! Then  the 
sounds  were  those  of  prison  bolts  and  heavy  chains,  of 
orders  peremptory  and  brutal,  of  floggings,  tortures, 
lamentations,  blasphemies,  and  profanities  from  the 
tongues  of  men  who  would  gladly  welcome  death  as  a 
happy  release  from  the  brutalities  of  their  penal  exist- 
ence. No ; the  sounds  that  ring  out  from  these  same 
localities  to-day  are  the  voices  of  free  men  ; the  hum — 
that  of  free  industrial  life  and  vigour,  where  none  are 
bond,  and  the  humblest  toiler  can  command  respect 
from  other  men  who  are  only  superior  to  him  in  social 
position  because  they  are  some  degrees  better  off — 
higher  up  the  ladder  a rung  or  two.  But  he  will 
tolerate  no  bullying,  and  will  as  readily  tell  an  over- 
bearing superior  to  go — say  to  equatorial  Africa,  as 
look  at  him,  if  he  thinks  that  superior  is  not  treating 
him  as  he  should  do.  Jack  is  as  good  as  his  master  in 
that  part  of  the  world,  and  will  stand  bullying  or  brow- 
beating from  nobody.  In  that  respect,  at  all  events, 
equality  is  a real  good  colonial  institution,  and  older 
lands  might  take  a leaf  out  of  the  colonial  book  with 
advantage. 

Sydney  people  are  proud  of  their  harbour  ; no  wonder 
they  are,  for  it  is  a genuinely  solid  thing  to  boast  of. 
‘‘Seen  the  harbour?”  is  about  the  first  inquiry  made 
when  it  is  discovered  it  is  one’s  first  visit  to  the  place. 
“ Charming,  is  it  not  ? ” 

“ Indeed  it  is,”  will  be  the  answer,  which  will  at  once 
place  one  upon  the  most  friendly  terms  with  his 
interrogator.  But  if  the  visitor  does  not  fall  into 
raptures  over  the  subject  of  conversation,  he  is  im- 
mediately suspected  of  being  a Melbournite,  and  a 
coolness  follows  which  it  is  an  exceedingly  comical 
sensation  to  experience.  There  is  a great  jealousy 


126 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NFAV 


between  Sydney  and  Melbourne,  and  not  to  praise 
the  harbour  is  conclusive  evidence  that  it  is  Melbourne 
you  hail  from.  This  jealousy  and  rivalry  between 
Sydney  and  Melbourne  remind  the  author  of  a story 
he  heard  in  America  of  the  strained  relations  existing 
between  the  inhabitants  of  St.  Paul  and  Minneapolis. 
The  river  divides  into  two  parts  what  should  really  be 
one  and  the  same  city,  but  they  are  separate  com- 
munities, each  with  its  own  system  of  municipal 
government.  “ Do  you  know,  sir,''  said  an  American 
who  was  going  east,  “ the  jealousy  between  these  two 
towns  is  so  great  that  the  people  on  one  side  of  the 
river  will  not  allow  a Bible  within  the  boundaries  of 
Minneapolis?"  “And  why  may  that  be?"  “Wall, 
sir,  it’s  jest  because  St.  Paul  is  mentioned  in  the  Bible 
and  Minneapolis  isn't."  It  was  a catch,  of  course,  but 
nevertheless  a neat  and  satirical  comment  upon  the 
childishness  of  places  getting  jealous  of  each  other. 
Sydney  and  Melbourne  can  take  the  hint  and  profit 
mutually  by  reflecting  upon  it.  There  is,  perhaps,  an 
excuse  for  Melbourne  regretting  that  Nature  has  not 
been  equally  generous  in  providing  her  with  an 
approach  such  as  Port  Jackson  confers  upon  the  rival 
capital  in  New  South  Wales  ; but  Sydney  need  not 
“ rub  it  in  " by  constantly  reminding  the  great  southern 
city  of  its  comparative  disadvantages  in  this  respect. 

The  Cove  of  Cork  and  Rio  de  Janeiro  are  accounted 
rivals  of  Sydney  so  far  as  the  beauty  of  their  respective 
harbours  are  concerned,  but  the  latter  comes  well  out  of 
the  comparison  with  either.  Its  cove-like  indentations 
are  more  numerous,  fringed  as  they  are,  from  their  sandy 
and  gravelly  beaches  upwards,  with  foliage  ever  verdant 
and  refreshing  to  gaze  on,  and  the  peculiar  feature  of 
Port  Jackson  is  that  you  cannot  take  it  in  at  s.  single  couj? 
dociL  You  go  from  one  headland  to  another  only  to 
find  recurring  wide  expanses  of  deep  and  placid  waters 


AUSTRALIA’S  CAPITALS  AND  PRINCIPAL  TOWNS  127 


capable  of  accommodating  the  fleets  of  almost  every 
power  in  the  world.  Go  down  to  Middle  Harbour,  as  it 
is  called,  and  you  imagine  that  it  is  a series  of  sounds  you 
are  sailing  through.  Or  down  to  Manly,  with  its  silvery 
ripples  following  each  other  with  splashes  that  scarcely 
make  themselves  heard  upon  that  gently-sloping  beach 
in  front,  and  immediately  behind  it  the  rollers  of  the 
Pacific  breaking  upon  the  shore  with  the  noise  of 
thunder.  Or  go  to  Lane  Cove  and  dozens  of  other 
sheltered  nooks,  or  for  fifteen  miles  past  the  busy  city 
up  to  Parramatta,  and  you  will  return  with  the  con- 
viction that  it  will  be  hard  to  beat  Sydney  Harbour 
anywhere  in  the  world. 

During  the  long  spring,  summer,  and  autumn  months 
— long,  compared  with  those  of  Great  Britain — Sydney 
surpasses  any  other  place  the  author  knows  for  the 
delight  its  inhabitants  take  in  marine  outings  here,  there 
and  everywhere  around  its  land-locked  shores.  Hardly 
a day  passes  that  one  will  not  hear  the  strains  of  music 
from  bands  that  are  heading  picnic  parties  to  the  ferry- 
boats for  embarkation  to  favourite  resorts ; and  it  can 
be  said  of  the  Sydney  people  that,  if  they  possess  a fine 
harbour,  they  make  good  use  of  it  by  excursions  of  this 
sort.  They  seem  to  be  always  moving  about  it  in  all 
directions,  and  the  ferry  steamers  it  would  sometimes  be 
difficult  to  count,  they  are  so  numerous  while  the  season 
of  out-door  gaiety  and  recreation  lasts.  No  visitor  to 
Sydney  should  miss  one  of  the  constant  opportunities 
he  will  have  to  proceed  by  water  to  Parramatta,  the  site 
of  the  old  Government  Farm  of  convict  days.  From 
Rose  Hill  the  place  changed  its  name  to  Parramatta  in 
1791,  and  now  it  is  a township  of  considerable  dimen- 
sions, with  extensive  orange-groves  which  give  an  idea 
of  the  success  which  has  attended  that  particular  branch 
of  industry. 

Sydney  has  its  drawbacks,  of  course.  In  the  hot 


128 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


months  the  heat  is  hard  to  bear  ; not  only  is  it  intense 
in  the  day  time,  but  the  nights  are  likewise  oppressive, 
and  the  mosquitoes  exceedingly  troublesome,  especially 
if  one  is  foolish  enough  to  retire  without  encircling  his 
couch  with  fine  netting  to  repel  attack.  What  is  worst 
about  the  Sydney  heat  is,  that  it  is  a moist  heat,  and 
that  you  feel  in  a kind  of  vapour  bath,  the  flesh  clammy, 
and  one’s  clothes  sticking  to  one’s  back  to  an  extent 
that  is  far  from  comfortable.  And  strangest  thing  of 
all,  great  numbers  of  the  population  do  not  resort  to 
seasonable  clothing.  Puffing,  blowing,  and  wiping 
away  the  beads  of  perspiration  from  his  forehead, 
face,  and  neck,  the  city  man,  as  he  would  be  called  in 
London,  would  not,  as  a rule,  ever  dream  of  dispensing 
with  his  shining  tall  hat  and  black  frock  coat.  He 
swelters  along  in  these  habiliments  as  though  his  good 
name  and  credit  depended  ever  so  much  upon  his 
looking  intensely  respectable,  even  when  the  ther- 
mometer stands  at  no  degrees  in  the  shade,  or  a 
degree  or  two  beyond  that  record.  It  is,  no  doubt, 
owing  to  these  atmospheric  influences  that  the  figures 
of  New  South  Welshmen  are  generally  so  attenuated 
that  they  are  called  “ cornstalks  ” ; and  greater  robust- 
ness is  certainly  observable  amongst  those  who  reside 
in  the  more  temperate  portions  of  Australia.  The 
mean  temperature  of  Sydney  is  63  degrees. 

It  is  during  the  hot  months  that  those  who  can  afford 
the  time  and  money  clear  out  to  Tasmania  or  New 
Zealand,  or  to  the  cooler  altitudes  of  the  Blue  Mountains, 
passing  en  route  through  the  broiling  Penrith  Plains, 
across  the  Nepean,  and  up  to  Mount  Victoria,  or 
dozens  of  other  localities  on  their  summits  equally 
invigorating.  The  ascent  and  descent  of  these  ranges 
is  accomplished  by  means  of  a railway  line — the  Zig- 
Zag — which  is  a triumph  of  engineering  skill  only 
equalled  south  of  the  line,  if  one  can  really 


AUSTRALIA’S  CAPITALS  AND  PRINCIPAL  TOWNS  129 


say  so  much,  by  the  central  gripping  third-rail  track 
across  the  Rimutaka  in  New  Zealand.  At  any  other 
season  of  the  year  the  tourist  would  be  tempted  to 
make  the  descent  of  the  Blue  Mountains  to  Lithgow, 
and  thence  across  the  fertile  Bathurst  Plains  to  the 
quaint  old  town  of  that  name  which  stands  second  in 
importance  to  Sydney ; but,  if  he  be  wise,  he  will  remain 
on  the  Blue  Mountains  until  the  thermometer  on  the 
plains  is  more  encouraging. 

Sydney  is  well  provided  with  parks  and  public 
gardens,  and  the  Domain,  for  the  most  part  surrounded 
by  water,  is  one  of  the  finest  possessed  by  any  city — 
not  nearly  so  extensive,  it  is  true,  as  Golden  Gate  Park 
in  San  Francisco,  Central  Park  in  New  York,  or  Phoenix 
Park  in  Dublin,  but  superior  to  them  in  point  of 
situation  and  the  time  in  which  it  can  be  reached  from 
the  centre  of  the  city. 

Besides  Bathurst,  New  South  Wales  has  many 
other  large  towns,  such  as  Albury  on  the  northern 
bank  of  the  Murray,  Goulbourn,  Deniliquin  on  the 
Edwards,  Orange,  Dubbo,  and  Newcastle.  The  last- 
named,  on  the  coast,  is  famous  for  its  coal  mines,  and 
does  a large  export  trade  in  that  commodity  with  almost 
every  part  of  the  world.  The  coal  measures  appear  to 
be  inexhaustible.  Newcastle  in  New  South  Wales  is 
in  this  respect  akin  to  its  English  namesake. 

As  a city,  Melbourne  takes  first  rank  in  Australia, 
and  it  would  be  difficult  to  find  any  other  which  has 
been  laid  out  upon  a better  plan.  Generally  speaking, 
the  streets  run  at  right  angles  to  each  other  on  the  block 
principle,  and  all  its  principal  thoroughfares  are  of 
regular  width.  Collins  Street,  Burke  Street,  Swanson 
Street,  Flinders  Street,  Elizabeth  Street,  Victoria 
Parade,  Nicolson  Street,  and  dozens  of  others  could  be 
mentioned  as  amongst  the  finest  in  the  world  for 
length  and  width.  Collins,  Burke,  Swanson,  Elizabeth, 

10 


130  AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 

and  Flinders  are  chief  amongst  them,  and  there  the 
constant  stir  and  bustle  will  surprise  any  new  arrival 
from  the  biggest  cities  of  the  old  world  or  America. 
They  are  full  of  life  from  early  morning  till  late 
at  night,  and  it  is  hard  to  realise  that  when  Johnny 
Fawkner  went  there  in  1835  the  site  upon  which 
Melbourne  stands  was  a primitive  wilderness.  He  lived 
long  enough  to  see  it  grow  to  considerable  dimensions, 
but  the  man  who  really  laid  the  foundations  of  the 
noblest  city  under  Austral  skies  still  survives.  If  not, 
he  must  have  died  quite  recently,  because  it  is  only 
two  or  three  years  ago  when  the  man  who  made  the 
original  survey  of  Melbourne  was  discovered  in  poor 
circumstances.  The  Government  at  once  acknowledged 
its  indebtedness  to  Mr.  Russell  by  making  adequate 
provision  for  the  remainder  of  his  days.  Large-hearted 
generosity  and  gratefulness  to  their  deserving  public 
men  are  characteristics  of  the  Melbourne  and  Victorian 
people  generally,  and  these  have  been  very  fittingly 
bestowed  upon  the  decrepit  old  gentleman  to  whose 
judicious  professional  skill  Melbourne  now  ranks 
amongst  the  best  laid-out  cities  of  modern  times. 

Melbourne  abounds  with  handsome  buildings,  such  as 
Parliament  House  at  the  top  of  Burke  Street,  the  new 
Treasury  Buildings  looking  down  Collins  Street,  the 
Town  Hall,  Post  and  Telegraph  Office,  the  L.aw  Courts, 
Scots  Church,  the  Anglican  Cathedral  in  Swanson 
Street,  and  that  enormous  pile  on  Eastern  Hill,  St. 
Patrick's  Roman  Catholic  Cathedral.  Begun  in  1848, 
this  monster  edifice  was  completed  only  a few  years  ago, 
at  a total  cost,  so  the  author  has  been  informed,  of  over 
half  a million  sterling.  No  one  can  visit  Melbourne 
without  admiring  its  Public  Library,  which  contains  an 
immense  collection  of  general  literature  and  standard 
works  of  reference,  and  access  to  it  can  be  obtained, 
whilst  its  doors  are  open,  by  simply  walking  in  and 


AUSTRALIA’S  CAPITALS  AND  PRINCIPAL  TOWNS  131 

reading  any  book  that  may  be  required.  For  many 
years  the  assistant  librarian  at  this  institution  was  Marcus 
Clarke,  the  versatile  journalist  and  author  of  “ For  the 
Term  of  His  Natural  Life/^  For  many  years  also  most 
readable  and  interesting  contributions  from  his  facile 
pen  appeared  from  week  to  week  in  The  Australasian^ 
over  the  no7n  de  plume  of  “ The  Peripatetic  Philosopher/^ 
One  is  in  doubt  whether  it  is  Mr.  Clarke,  for  ‘‘  His 
Natural  Life,”  or  Rolf  Boldrewood  (Mr.  Brown),  for  his 
“ Robbery  under  Arms,”  who  should  be  awarded  the 
premier  place  amongst  Australian  authors.  A plebiscite 
on  the  subject  v/ould  most  likely  divide  the  honours 
between  them,  so  far  as  concerns  the  popularity  which 
each  of  these  clever  productions  enjoys  amongst  colonial 
readers. 

Public  gardens  and  recreation  grounds  are  numerous 
in  and  around  Melbourne,  and  for  the  possession  of  most 
of  these  the  citizens  owe  a debt  of  gratitude  to  Governor 
Latrobe.  The  Fitzroy  Gardens,  with  their  varied  col- 
lection of  statuary,  the  Exhibition  Gardens,  New  Treasury 
Gardens,  Zoological  Gardens,  Flagstaff  Gardens,  and 
Botanical  Gardens,  the  last-named  stretching  a long 
way  back  from  the  Yarra’s  banks,  afford  extensive 
areas  for  recreation  and  exercise  such  as  few  cities  can 
equal,  much  less  excel,  all  of  them  maintained  in 
splendid  order  the  whole  year  round.  These  provide 
most  enjoyable  retreats  from  the  hot  and  often  dusty 
thoroughfares  of  the  metropolis  in  summer  time  ; they 
are  lung  spaces  which  would  be  adequate  for  a far  larger 
and  more  congested  and  insanitary  city  than  Melbourne 
is,  and  therefore  its  future  expansion  is  amply  provided 
for  in  this  respect.  Albert  Park,  quite  contiguous  to 
the  city,  is  a charming  public  reserve  at  all  seasons  of 
the  year.  Out  of  a lagoon  or  swamp,  a lake  of  good 
extent  has  been  formed  in  the  centre,  and  swarms  of 
yachts  and  boats  are  to  be  seen  there  all  through  the 


T32 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


summer  months.  A short  walk  or  ride  on  rail  or  tram 
takes  you  to  St.  Kilda,  a beautiful  seaside  suburb  on  the 
shores  of  Port  Phillip.  St.  Kilda  serves  the  same 
purpose  to  Melbourne  that  Brighton  does  to  London, 
and  its  esplanade  and  long  pier  are  the  places  above  all 
others  where  the  Melbournites  resort  to  on  summer 
afternoons  and  evenings. 

It  is  Melbourne's  greatest  misfortune  that  the 
approach  to  it  by  water  creates  impressions  the  reverse 
of  favourable — not  the  main  waterway  to  it  from  the 
ocean,  but  after  one  has  passed  through  the  Heads  at 
Queenscliffe,  sailed  for  a distance  of  nearly  forty  miles 
over  the  great  inland  sea  known  as  Port  Phillip  and 
reached  the  mouth  of  the  Yarra  ; thence  to  the  city  itself 
the  passage  up  stream  is  most  uninviting  and  malodorous. 
The  Yarra  is  but  a dirty  ditch,  narrow,  serpentine,  and 
difficult  of  navigation,  in  spite  of  the  countless  thousands 
that  have  been  expended  on  its  improvement.  It  may 
be  better  now  ; but  when  the  author  saw  it  last — and 
then  the  new  canal  to  avoid  Fishermen’s  Bend  had  been 
constructed  for  some  time — a passage  up  or  down  the 
muddy  Yarra  was  a sensation  which  it  was  desirable  to 
postpone  indefinitely.  Once  the  author  had  a rather 
disagreeable  experience  there.  The  steamship  Rotoma- 
hana,  on  which  he  happened  to  be  a passenger  bound 
for  New  Zealand,  failed  to  answer  her  helm  soon  enough 
to  successfully  negotiate  a sharp  winding  of  the  stream. 
Running  her  bows  into  one  bank,  the  current  brought 
her  broadside  on  across  the  river,  and  she  stuck  fast  in 
the  mud.  Her  position  was  such  that  no  other  vessel 
could  get  up  or  down.  They  lightened  her  cargo,  and 
tugboats  came  around  and  with  heavy  hawsers  tried  to 
drag  her  round  so  as  to  float  and  leave  the  channel 
clear  ; but  for  two  or  three  days  all  attempts  were  fruit- 
less, and  just  as  long  as  she  stuck  there  the  whole  traffic 
to  and  from  Melbourne  was  paralysed.  Captain  Under- 


AUSTRALIA'S  CAPITALS  AND  PRINCIPAL  TOWNS  133 


wood  was  furious  over  the  mishap,  and  so  were  his 
passengers,  for,  besides  being  irritated  by  this  unforeseen 
detention,  they  had  to  endure  the  noxious  odours  from 
soap  works  and  other  objectionable  manufactories  which 
were  wafted  to  their  nostrils  by  the  hot  winds  then 
prevailing.  The  situation  was  not  a pleasant  one, 
but  those  on  board  had  no  option  but  to  submit  to  it 
more  or  less  philosophically.  Little  incidents  of  this 
description  gave  fresh  opportunities  to  the  Sydneyites  to 
boast  about  their  lovely  harbour  all  the  more  energeti- 
cally, and  to  draw  comparisons  greatly  to  the  disparage- 
ment of  the  rival  city  in  the  south  ; and  Melbournites 
paid  them  back  by  reminding  them,  as  they  truthfully 
could  do,  that  Melbourne,  as  a model  city,  had  a lead 
which  Sydney  could  never  possibly  overtake,  despite  the 
fact  that  Victoria’s  capital  did  not  spring  into  existence 
for  nearly  fifty  years  after  the  foundation  of  the  capital 
of  New  South  Wales. 

Like  Sydney,  Melbourne  is  by  no  means  the 
pleasantest  of  places  to  be  in  when  hot  winds  are 
blowing  and  the  temperature  standing  for  two  or  three 
days  at  109  or  1 10  degrees  in  the  shade  ; but  Melbourne’s 
is  a drier  heat  than  Sydney’s,  and  consequently  less 
enervating  and  relaxing.  These  hot  winds  are  atmo- 
spheric currents  resembling  those  emitted  from  a 
baker’s  oven  when  its  doors  are  opened,  and  the  first 
waft  of  them  is  a signal  for  the  closing  of  all  doors 
and  windows  in  people’s  residences.  Somehow  or  other 
bush  fires  burst  forth  at  this  very  time ; the  smoke  is 
wafted  to  the  city  from  long  distances,  and  the 
atmosphere  becomes  so  thick  and  heavy  that  the  sun 
from  its  rising  to  its  setting  looks  like  a ball  of  red  fire 
and  the  moon  at  night  a planet  of  blood.  These 
hot-wind  days  and  nights  are  periodical  visitations 
which  make  one  wish  he  was  more  adjacent  to  the 
Antarctic  ; but  it  is  the  “ new  chum  ” who  has  not  yet 


134 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


been  acclimatised  that  is  most  to  be  pitied  under  these 
conditions.  As  often  as  not  he  will  tumble  about 
restlessly  on  his  couch  without  as  much  as  a sheet  to 
cover  him  ; sometimes  he  will  dispense  with  that  or  even 
more,  or  he  will  select  an  oil-cloth  floor  to  lie  down  on  ; 
or  he  will  spend  the  night  in  his  pyjamas  on  an  open 
verandah  or  balcony  ; go  where  he  may,  rest  is  out  of 
the  question ; mosquitoes  are  unremitting  in  their 
attentions,  and  white  blisters,  the  size  of  pigeon's  eggs, 
disfigure  his  face  and  body.  At  last  relief  comes — 
always  suddenly.  The  wind  veers  round  to  the  south, 
and  doors  and  windows  are  immediately  thrown  wide 
open,  be  it  night  or  day,  to  give  free  admission  to  the 
ever-welcome  cooling  current  which  puts  an  end  to  his 
misery  and  his  longings  for  regions  of  snow.  These 
sudden  changes  of  temperature  are  characteristic  of  the 
Melbourne  climate,  and  a fall  from  iio^  to  50°  is  no 
uncommon  freak  of  the  thermometer.  The  mean 
temperature  of  the  city  is  58°. 

In  former  days,  Melbourne’s  water  supply  was  not 
all  that  could  be  desired.  It  was  collected  into  the 
Yan  Yean  from  the  watershed  in  the  immediate 
locality,  and  when  it  was  drawn  for  use  in  the  city, 
whither  it  was  conveyed  through  pipes,  the  water  was 
of  a very  impure  description,  sometimes  of  an  opaque 
colour,  and  again  quite  yellow  and  unpalatable.  The 
necessity  of  going  further  back  into  the  ranges  and  to 
higher  altitudes  became  obvious  to  the  authorities,  and 
a scheme  was  propounded  by  Mr.  Davidson,  the  per- 
manent executive  head  of  the  public  works  department, 
for  the  purpose  of  diverting  the  natural  flow  of  the 
waters  of  the  Plenty  Ranges  so  that  they  might  be 
conducted  to  the  Melbourne  side  of  these  elevations 
instead  of  the  whole  of  the  waterflow  being  taken  in 
a westerly  direction.  To  do  this,  Mr.  Davidson  was 
required  to  tap  these  waters  at  the  highest  altitude  of 


AUSTRALIA’S  CAPITALS  AND  PRINCIPAL  TOWNS  135 

the  Dividing  Range,  which  he  did  at  a place  called 
Silvery  Creek,  at  a distance  of  about  sixty  miles  from 
the  capital.  Artificial  channels  were  constructed  through 
the  mountain  flats  upon  a principle  providing  against 
scour,  and  then  by  a series  of  waterfalls  the  water  was 
taken  from  one  elevation  to  a lower  one,  and  so  on 
downwards  by  alternating  channels  and  waterfalls  until 
it  reached  the  bottom  of  the  range,  and  found  its  way 
eventually  into  the  Yan  Yean  reservoir.  The  author 
had  the  pleasure  and  privilege  of  accompanying  Mr. 
Davidson  to  Silvery  Creek  on  the  special  excursion 
that  gentleman  made  for  the  purpose  of  opening  this 
new  source  of  water  supply  for  Melbourne,  and  the 
scheme  has  been  a splendid  success — a great  boon  to 
the  city  and  a lasting  testimony  of  Mr.  Davidson’s 
engineering  skill  and  judgment.  It  was  a task  of  no 
small  magnitude  to  interfere  at  such  a high  elevation 
with  the  natural  flow  of  water  from  the  summits  of 
the  dividing  range,  to  tap  it  sufficiently  for  his  require- 
ments, and  to  conduct  the  water  thus  diverted  at  such  a 
great  height  to  the  level  country  on  the  Yan  Yean  side 
of  the  range  in  such  a way  as  to  provide  effectually 
against  scour  in  ordinary  seasons  and  damage  to  the 
works  in  times  of  heavy  rain  and  largely  augmented 
impetus  and  flow.  Mr.  Davidson  has  every  reason  to 
feel  proud  of  his  work,  one  great  feature  of  which  has 
been  to  conduce  largely  to  the  improved  health  of  the 
metropolis. 

Before  it  carried  out  its  underground  drainage  scheme 
the  sanitation  of  Melbourne  was  most  imperfect,  with 
the  result  that  in  the  hot  months  the  atmosphere 
became  vitiated  to  an  extent  that  not  inappropriately 
earned  for  the  place  the  jeering  appellation  of  “ Marvel- 
lous Smellbourne.”  But  the  condition  of  things  has 
altered  very  much  for  the  better  since  the  completion 
of  the  underground  system,  and  one’s  first  impressions 


136 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


of  the  city  are,  that  from  a sanitary  point  of  view  its 
interests  are  well  looked  after  by  the  municipal  autho- 
rities. What  hideous  things  those  wide  open  channels 
used  to  be,  with  their  miniature  bridges  at  intervals  to 
allow  people  to  cross  from  one  side  of  the  street  to  the 
other  ! And  what  floods,  too,  with  offensive  sewage 
matter  flowing  about,  have  not  old  residents  seen  in 
Swanson  and  Elizabeth  Streets  after  tropical  downpours 
of  only  a few  hours'  duration ! And  in  these  same 
street-floods  lives  have  sometimes  been  lost.  Compared 
with  what  it  then  was,  Melbourne  is  now  a paradise  of 
sanitation,  cleanliness,  and  health.  It  is  besides  a city 
of  unceasing  gaiety  and  high-spiritedness,  and  well  it 
may  be  so,  for  most  of  its  inhabitants  are  comfortably 
circumstanced,  and  one's  heart  is  not  saddened  by 
spectacles  of  wretchedness  and  want  such  as  come 
under  his  constant  observation  in  the  crowded  cities  of 
the  old  world.  The  same  extremes  of  wealth  and 
poverty,  luxury  and  starvation,  are  non-existent  in  that 
city  of  marvellous  expansion  for  its  age  under  southern 
skies,  and  it  is  this  more  than  anything  else  which 
renders  daily  life  in  Melbourne  so  agreeable.  Of  course, 
poverty  will  be  found  in  most  large  cities,  but  in  Mel- 
bourne the  cases  are  comparatively  few,  and  in  most  of 
these  the  people  themselves  are  not  altogether  blame- 
less for  the  condition  they  are  reduced  to.  In  Australia 
the  instances  are  exceptional  where  poverty  is  the 
result  of  sheer  misfortune  without  improvidence  con- 
tributing to  its  existence ; for  in  that  land  no  one  who 
is  able  and  willing  to  work,  and  even  moderately  care- 
ful of  what  he  earns,  need  ever  be  reduced  to 
impecuniosity,  or  be  without  a good  bed  to  lie  on, 
clothes  to  wear,  and  food  to  eat.  It  is  only  the 
spendthrift  and  worthless  whom  poverty  overtakes  ; 
and  where  old  age  and  infirmity  are  the  unavoidable 
causes,  then  the  State  and  private  benevolence  step 


AUSTRALIA’S  CAPITALS  AND  PRINCIPAL  TOWNS  137 

in  with  an  open  hand,  and  see  that  the  deserving  poor 
are  properly  cared  for,  without  recourse  to  the  hateful 
and  degrading  workhouse  system  of  the  Mother  Land. 
The  very  name  of  workhouse  is  repugnant  to  the 
free-hearted,  benevolent,  and  philanthropic  people  of 
Australia,  and  the  workhouse  system  is  one  which, 
thank  Heaven,  will  never  take  root  upon  its  soil. 

Of  the  inland  cities  of  Victoria,  Ballarat  claims  pre- 
eminence, and  no  one  can  dispute  its  right  to  that 
proud  distinction.  Taking  its  origin  from  that  period 
in  the  early  fifties  when  it  was  merely  a conglomeration 
of  canvas  and  weatherboard  habitations  scattered  over 
its  gullies  and  hillsides,  Ballarat  has  become  a city  of 
beautiful  proportions  and  solidity,  where  the  mining 
industry  still  flourishes,  and  big  yields  of  gold  are 
obtained  from  quartz  extracted  from  the  workings 
hundreds,  sometimes  thousands,  of  feet  below  the 
surface-level.  A place  of  great  bustle  and  excitement 
Ballarat  has  always  been  from  its  alluvial  period  down 
to  the  quartz-reefing  operations  of  the  present  day, 
and  its  local  bourse,  known  as  The  Verandah,  is  always 
crowded  by  speculators  in  mining  stocks,  who  watch 
the  market  fluctuations  with  keen  interest,  and  either 
purchase  or  dispose  of  large  parcels  of  scrip  as  they 
find  opportunities  to  operate  in  that  old  place  where 
so  many  fortunes  have  been  made  and  lost. 

Situated  at  an  altitude  of  fourteen  hundred  feet 
above  sea-level,  the  general  temperature  of  Ballarat  is 
cooler  and  more  invigorating  than  that  of  Melbourne, 
from  which  it  is  distant  one  hundred  miles.  Sturt 
Street  is  the  Sackville  Street  of  Ballarat,  and  a grand 
thoroughfare  it  is,  with  its  town  hall  and  other  fine 
buildings  on  each  side.  A planted  avenue  runs 
through  its  centre  and  provides  a shady  promenade, 
which  is  gladly  availed  of  in  the  summer  season. 
‘‘Been  to  the  Lake?’'  is  asked  the  visitor  just  as  the 


138  AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 

question,  “ Have  you  seen  our  Harbour  ? ” is  addressed 
to  him  in  Sydney.  Not  yet.”  “ Then  don’t  leave 
Ballarat  without  seeing  it ; ” and  you  don’t.  Lake 
Wendouree  is  Ballarat’s  great  show  place,  and  it  is 
well  worth  seeing.  Here  you  find  a long  and  broad 
expanse  of  water,  of  shallow  depth,  which  was  for- 
merly nothing  but  a choked-up  swamp  of  stagnant 
pools  and  islets  of  worthless  and  decaying  vegetation. 
To  clear  this  noxious  waste  was  a work  of  magnitude 
and  cost ; but  they  tackled  it,  and  eventually  trans- 
formed the  locality  into  a lovely  artificial  lake  of 
considerable  dimensions.  Steamers  ply  upon  it  now, 
besides  a numerous  flotilla  of  gondolas,  yachts,  and 
boats  of  all  sizes  and  descriptions.  At  the  far  side 
of  the  lake  Ballarat  has  its  public  gardens — pardonably 
proud  they  are  of  them — and  a fernery  such  as  is  not 
to  be  equalled  by  anything  of  the  kind  in  Australasia, 
or  possibly  anywhere  else.  Of  course,  one  must  not 
leave  Ballarat  without  going  to  Bakery  Hill,  on  which 
the  historic  stockade  was  erected  where  the  miners 
defended  themselves  against  the  attack  of  the  soldiery 
and  police  on  that  Sunday  morning  in  the  December  of 
1854 — a conflict  ever  afterwards  to  be  known  as  the 
Ballarat  Riots.  But  if  lives  were  lost  on  that  occasion 
and  rewards  offered  which  were  never  claimed  for  the 
arrest  of  the  concealed  ringleaders  of  the  agitation,  this 
armed  resistance  against  the  exactions  of  the  authorities 
hastened  the  reforms  which  the  miners  had  been  pre- 
viously clamouring  for  without  much  heed  being  paid  to 
their  remonstrances. 

Bendigo  is  also  a big  and  thriving  city  in  Victoria. 
Its  municipal  authorities  were  stupid  enough  to  have 
the  name  changed  to  Sandhurst,  but  many  years  have 
elapsed  since  the  old  name  was  re-adopted.  Bendigo 
is  certainly  more  euphonious,  and  has  the  additional 
recommendation  that  it  is  derived  from  the  language 


AUSTRALIA’S  CAPITALS  AND  PRINCIPAL  TOWNS  139 


of  the  aborigines.  It  is  the  great  centre  of  quartz- 
mining, and  on  that  account  is  facetiously  nicknamed 
“ Quartzopolis.”  Bendigo  was,  and  still  is,  a great 
money-making  place,  but  its  palmiest  days  were  those 
of  alluvial  digging  at  Eaglehawk  and  the  surrounding 
neighbourhood,  when  money  was  so  plentiful  that  no 
great  value  was  put  upon  it  by  those  who  came  into  its 
possession  so  easily.  On  the  whole  of  the  diggings 
there  was  no  place  more  lively  than  Bendigo,  and  the 
diggers  spent  their  money  with  lavish  indifference. 
Many  of  them  are  alive  to-day  who  flung  their  nuggets 
on  the  stage  to  the  dancing  of  the  celebrated  Lolla 
Montez,  and  used  never  to  miss  a night  at  the  theatre 
to  see  the  great  Gustavus  Vaughan  Brooke,  first  as 
‘‘  Othello  or  “ Richelieu,’'  and  then  as  ‘‘  O’Callaghan  on 
his  Last  Legs.”  Poor  Brooke  was  always  a great 
favourite  in  Bendigo,  as  indeed  he  was  all  over  Aus- 
tralia, and  the  blank  he  left  since  going  down  in  the 
ill-fated  London  in  the  Bay  of  Biscay  has  never  been 
refilled  by  any  other  actor  on  the  Australian  stage. 
Just  imagine  so  many  years  passing  by  without  pro- 
ducing a successor  to  be  compared  with  Brooke  for 
dramatic  power  and  versatility  ; for  where  is  the  actor 
to-day  who  upon  the  same  night  could  acquit  himself 
in  tragedy  and  comedy  so  marvellously  well  as  Brooke 
did  nearly  forty  years  ago?  In  Australia  Brooke  is 
still  remembered  with  affection,  by  none  more  so  than 
by  his  old  admirers  on  the  goldfields.  Bendigo  also 
calls  back  to  memory  the  versatile  improviser  Bob 
Thatcher,  whose  songs  upon  local  persons  and  events 
used  to  convulse  his  crowded  audiences.  What  old 
resident  of  Bendigo  does  not  remember  the  Bulla 
Creek  incident  which  Thatcher’s  impromptu  genius 
turned  into  song,  with  a very  taking  air,  descriptive  of 
the  picnic  on  that  scorching  day  to  Bulla  Creek  and  its 
comical  developments  ; how  the  ladies,  bent  on  bathing, 


140 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


wandered  to  a secluded  spot  and  plunged  into  the 
cooling  water ; and  how  their  loud  and  continuous 
screams  hastened  their  male  companions  to  the  spot 
to  see  what  was  amiss.  It  might  be  snakes  ; it  could 
not  be  alligators,  because  none  were  there.  The  cause 
of  the  commotion  was  soon  to  be  discovered  : a multi- 
tude of  leeches  had  fastened  upon  the  ladies'  bodies, 
and  in  their  fright  and  perplexity  there  was  no  help 
for  it  but  to  summon  the  male  picnickers  to  their  assis- 
tance. Thatcher  got  hold  of  the  incident  as  soon  as  the 
picnic  party  returned  to  Bendigo,  and  that  very  night 
he  brought  the  house  down  with  ‘‘  Bulla  Creek."  And 
then  in  the  list  of  Bendigo’s  old  favourites  comes  Joe 
Small,  with  his  inimitable  “ Unfortunate  Man  ’’  and 
numerous  other  contributions  from  an  extensive  reper- 
toire. Madame  Carandini  was  a bright  star  among 
the  vocalists  of  those  old  Bendigo  days ; and  Madame 
Simonsen  used  also  to  delight  her  audiences  as  the 
priina  donna  of  Italian  opera,  for  the  Bendigo  people 
did  not  mind  how  much  they  paid  for  the  best  lyric 
and  dramatic  talent  they  could  secure  from  the  metro- 
polis. Catherine  Hayes  and  Anna  Bishop  have  sung 
there.  Sir  William  and  Lady  Don  had  always  a good 
reception  in  Bendigo.  They  all  made  money  there,  yet 
of  all  these  prime  favourites  not  one  survives  to-day. 
Fred  McCabe,  the  ventriloquist,  went  there,  too,  and 
met  with  good  support ; Toole  also  paid  it  a visit ; and 
Santley  has  been  the  delight  of  big  audiences  in  the 
same  theatre-loving  city  of  Bendigo.  Under  the  pilot- 
age also  of  that  prince  of  Australasian  impresarios,  Mr. 
R.  S.  Smythe,  Mark  Twain  and  Talmage  have  lectured 
in  Bendigo ; the  late  Archibald  Forbes  has  discoursed 
upon  wars  and  kings  he  had  met ; and  the  Rev.  Charles 
Clarke  has  delivered  his  scholarly  dissertations  upon 
Dickens,  d'hackeray,  Macaulay,  Warren  Hastings,  and 
the  Tower  of  London. 


AUSTRALIA’S  CAPITALS  AND  PRINCIPAL  TOWNS  141 

What  old  surviving  Bendigonian  is  there  who  does  not 
remember  the  Shamrock  and  Billy  Heffernan  ? — once  a 
man  worth  ^95,000,  then  losing  it,  making  another  pile,” 
losing  that  too  by  unlucky  speculation,  and  so  sliding 
up  and  down  the  ladder  of  alternating  prosperity  and 
adversity  for  years  before  he  shook  the  dust  of  Bendigo 
off  his  feet  and  went  to  Dunedin,  New  Zealand,  where  he 
died  several  years  ago  worse  off  than  when  he  set  foot 
upon  Australia  from  America  in  the  early  fifties.  The 
author  has  seen  this  same  Billy  Heffernan  put  through 
the  washing-pan  a quantity  of  earth  dug  from  his  back 
premises  in  Bendigo,  which  yielded  a good  deal  of 
nuggety  and  flakey  gold.  At  one  time  gold  could  be 
obtained  almost  anywhere  within  the  city  boundaries, 
and  Golden  Square  is  the  locality  of  quartz-reefing  to 
a very  large  extent  at  this  time. 

In  one  of  the  claims  here  located  the  author  has 
descended  to  a depth  of  over  two  thousand  feet  from 
the  surface,  and  seen  the  thick  lead  (pronounced  “leed”)  of 
golden  quartz  which  the  miners  (day  wages  men)  were 
employed  in  picking  out  and  sending  above  to  the 
crushing  battery.  The  atmosphere  at  this  depth  is 
exceedingly  warm,  and  beads  of  perspiration  ooze  from 
every  pore  of  the  body.  A visitor  before  descending 
the  shaft  will  always  act  wisely  by  divesting  himself  of 
most  of  his  clothes  and  clean  linen  and  attiring  himself 
in  a suit  of  coarse  overalls.  If  not,  he  will  return  to 
the  surface  a very  grimy  object.  Besides  at  Bendigo, 
quartz-reefing  is  carried  on  extensively  at  Ballarat, 
Stawell,  Maryborough  and  several  other  places  in 
Victoria.  Accidents  frequently  happen  in  this  very 
dangerous  branch  of  industry,  and  the  author  remembers 
a terrible  one  which  occurred  at  Maryborough  many 
years  ago,  at  the  Duke  Mine.  The  cage  with  several 
men  in  it  had  reached  the  surface,  but  by  some  mistake  on 
the  part  of  those  in  the  engine-house,  instead  of  being 


142 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


stopped  there,  the  cage  ascended  to  the  poppet  heads 
with  a force  which  broke  the  machinery,  and  the  cage 
went  down  the  shaft  again  with  lightning  speed.  At  the 
bottom  every  one  of  its  occupants  instantly  became  a 
mangled  corps ; they  had  fallen  more  than  a thousand 
feet. 

Geelong,  another  of  Victoria’s  most  important  towns, 
lies  upon  a bay  which  is  an  arm  of  Port  Phillip.  At  one 
time  Geelong  came  very  near  being  made  the  capital, 
but  the  construction  of  the  railway  from  there  to 
Ballarat  put  an  end  to  the  proposal.  This  continuation 
of  the  line  from  Melbourne  to  Ballarat  practically  killed 
Geelong,  and  it  stagnated  accordingly.  Geelong  is 
beautifully  situated,  is  a solid,  well-built  town  with 
spacious  thoroughfares,  and  is  an  agreeable  resort  for 
those  who  tire  of  the  bustle  of  city  life.  Its  public 
park  is  a special  feature  of  recommendation.  Geelong 
is  a manufacturing  town,  and  its  tweeds  are  much  worn 
and  appreciated. 

It  must  not  be  supposed  by  those  who  know  nothing 
to  the  contrary  that  gold-mining  is  the  sole  occupation 
in  the  mining  cities  and  towns  of  Victoria.  Various 
other  industries  have  been  established,  and  at  Ballarat, 
for  example,  railway  locomotive  construction  is  exten- 
sively carried  on.  These  cities  and  towns  are  surrounded 
by  fine  agricultural  and  pastoral  districts,  supporting 
numerous  populations,  and  in  those  areas  which  are 
devoted  to  agricultural  occupation,  the  soil  is  very  fertile 
and  the  crops  prolific.  In  fact,  these  goldfields  have 
done  more  to  extend  settlement  than  anything  else 
which  could  be  imagined,  and  they  have  therefore  served 
a double  purpose  : first,  by  drawing  large  communities 
to  themselves  ; and  secondly,  by  inducing  others  to  go 
upon  the  soil  and  supply  them  with  the  principal 
necessaries  of  life.  That  is  why  settlement  has  made 
such  signal  progress  in  Victoria. 


AUSTRALIA’S  CAPITALS  AND  PRINCIPAL  TOWNS  143 

A beautiful  city  is  Adelaide,  the  capital  of  South 
Australia.  First  settled  in  1836,  it  was  named  in  honour 
of  Queen  Adelaide,  the  wife  of  William  IV.  As  before 
explained,  no  convicts  ever  found  a foothold  here,  as  by 
Act  of  Parliament  South  Australia  was  specially  excluded 
from  the  transportation  system.  The  city  is  divided 
into  two  parts  by  the  river  Torrens,  and  numerous 
substantial  bridges  give  access  from  one  part  of  the  city 
to  the  other.  As  a rule,  the  streets  are  wide  and  regular 
on  the  south  side  of  the  river,  running  at  right  angles, 
with  rows  of  trees  on  either  side.  This  is  the  business 
portion  of  the  city,  that  on  the  northern  bank  of  the 
Torrens  being  devoted  chiefly  to  residential  occupation. 
Adelaide  is  situated  upon  a large  plain,  with  Mount 
Lofty  Range  not  far  distant  from  its  eastern  and 
southern  sides.  The  shipping  port  is  Port  Adelaide,  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Torrens,  on  St.  Vincent  Gulf,  and  a 
railway  connects  the  city  with  this  port.  The  city  has 
an  abundant  water  supply,  and  is  a considerable 
manufacturing  centre,  principally  of  woollen  goods, 
leather,  iron,  and  earthenware.  South  Australia  exports 
large  quantities  of  wool,  wine,  wheat,  flour,  and  copper 
ore.  Many  splendid  buildings  grace  the  streets  of 
Adelaide,  and  the  most  conspicuous  of  them  are 
Parliament  House,  Government  Offices,  post-office, 
town  hall.  South  Australian  Institute,  &c.  Its  botanical 
gardens  are  of  good  extent  and  splendidly  kept. 

South  Australia  has  always  been  famed  for  the 
excellent  quality  of  its  wine  production,  and  vineyards 
are  to  be  seen  in  all  directions.  Few  people  in  the 
colonies  have  not  heard  of  the  wines  produced  by 
Cleland,  Penfold,  Smith,  of  Yalumba,  and  other  promi- 
nent vignerons.  But  the  man  who  has  done  more  than 
anybody  else  to  bring  South  Australian  wines  into 
prominence  is  Mr.  H.  J.  Scott,  of  New  Brighton.  To 
his  untiring  zeal  must  be  attributed  the  foothold  these 


144 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


wines  have  secured  in  London  and  other  places  in  the 
United  Kingdom  as  well  as  throughout  Australia, 
Tasmania,  and  New  Zealand.  Victoria  is  a strong 
competitor  with  South  Australia  in  wine  production, 
and  in  parts  of  the  former  the  vineyards  extend  farther 
than  the  eye  can  reach.  The  vineyards  of  Hubert  and 
Paul  de  Castella  are  amongst  the  most  extensive. 
Some  years  ago  the  author  had  the  pleasure  of  visiting 
Mr.  Paul  de  Castella's  vineyards  at  Yarra  Flats,  and  the 
wines  of  his  oldest  vintages  were  of  a quality  which 
left  nothing  better  to  be  desired.  The  Chateau  Tahbilk 
may  be  mentioned  as  another  of  Victoria's  most  exten- 
sive vineyards.  New  South  Wales  also  produces  capital 
wines,  and  really  it  is  difficult  to  choose  between  the 
productions  of  these  three  colonies.  The  vineyards  at 
Albury  are  well  worth  seeing,  and  no  one  should  leave 
that  border  town  without  paying  a visit  to  the  very 
extensive  wine  cellars  owned  by  Mr.  Fallon,  where  wines 
of  all  descriptions  are  stored  in  immense  quantities. 
Wine  will  for  all  time  be  one  of  the  greatest  staple 
products  of  Australia,  and  it  only  requires  age  to  place 
it  upon  an  equality  with  the  old  wine-producing 
countries  of  Europe.  It  has  always  struck  the  author 
as  being  very  absurd  that  New  Zealand,  which  will 
never  be  a wine-producing  country  upon  a scale  worth 
considering,  does  not  throw  its  ports  open  to  the  free 
introduction  of  Australian  wines  upon  some  reciprocal 
arrangement  mutually  advantageous. 

Queensland's  capital  is  Brisbane,  which  came  into 
existence  as  a penal  station  in  1825.  Eagle  Farm,  on 
which  the  city  now  stands,  was  the  location  of  the  first 
batch  of  convicts  sent  to  Moreton  Bay,  and  thousands 
of  other  convicts  were  conveyed  to  Queensland  between 
1825  and  1839.  After  that  year  the  only  convicts  sent 
there  were  some  of  those  who  arrived  in  the  last  convict 
.ship  at  Port  Jackson  and  were  not  allowed  to  disembark 


AUSTRALIA’S  CAPITALS  AND  PRINCIPAL  TOWNS  145 


at  Sydney.  As  in  the  case  of  Adelaide,  so  also  in 
Brisbane,  the  city  is  divided  into  two  parts  by  a river  (the 
Brisbane),  which  falls  into  Moreton  Bay  at  a distance  of 
twenty-five  miles  from  the  city.  Brisbane  has  broad, 
straight  streets,  well-built  bridges  span  the  river,  and 
numerous  fine  buildings  are  to  be  seen  upon  either  side 
of  the  city.  It  is  well  supplied  with  parks  and  botanical 
gardens,  and  Brisbane  is  a city  of  much  greater 
dimensions  than  might  be  expected  from  its  age  as 
a free  settlement.  As  in  all  the  other  capitals  of 
Australia,  industrial  enterprise  has  launched  out  in 
various  directions,  and  its  manufactories  give  employ- 
ment to  a large  section  of  the  community.  Queensland 
exports  gold,  wool,  cotton,  sugar,  tallow,  hides,  and 
other  commodities,  and  is  generally  speaking  a pro- 
gressive colony.  Brisbane  being  about  five  hundred 
miles  to  the  northward  of  Sydney,  the  climate  is  much 
warmer,  and  very  frequently  in  summer  the  heat  is  most 
oppressive.  Like  most  other  parts  of  the  Continent, 
insect  life  abounds  in  Queensland,  and  the  city  is  very 
much  subject  to  these  pests.  Rockhampton  and  Charters 
Towers  are  two  of  Queensland’s  most  important  towns, 
but  in  neither  of  them  will  any  one  live  for  choice, 
owing  to  the  enervating  nature  of  the  climate.  Indeed, 
with  regard  to  all  that  portion  of  Northern  Australia 
between  certain  parallels,  it  is  difficult  to  see  how  they 
can  be  brought  into  profitable  occupation  without  the 
employment  of  coloured  labour.  They  are  no  places 
for  white  men  to  toil  in. 

Perth,  the  capital  of  Western  Australia,  is  the  smallest 
on  the  Continent.  For  one  reason,  this  is  because  it 
was  the  last  to  remain  a Crown  colony ; and  in  the 
next  place  the  climate  is  too  hot  to  attract  population. 
Of  late  years  a spurt  has  been  given  to  Perth  by  the 
gold  discoveries  inland,  and  its  population  has  increased 
considerably,  mainly  upon  that  account.  Perth  is 

II 


146 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


situated  on  the  north  bank  of  the  Swan  river.  Free- 
mantle  is  its  port  at  the  mouth  of  the  Swan,  twelve 
miles  distant  from  Perth.  The  relics  of  convictism  are 
still  to  be  seen  in  these  localities,  and  in  later  times  a 
good  many  political  prisoners  connected  with  the 
Fenian  organisation  were  sent  there.  A number  of 
these  escaped  by  an  American  whaler  to  the  United 
States  in  1875,  and  the  rest  either  terminated  their 
sentences  or  were  amnestied.  Many  of  them  com- 
plained bitterly  of  the  treatment  they  received  in  the 
Western  Australian  prisons  ; but,  cruel  as  that  treat- 
ment undoubtedly  was  in  some  instances,  none  of  the 
barbarities  were  practised  like  those  which  caused  such 
a thrill  of  indignation  and  horror  in  regard  to  convict 
life  at  the  penal  stations  of  New  South  Wales  and  Van 
Diemen's  Land  in  the  early  days. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

REPRESENTATIVE  AND  RESPONSIBLE  GOVERNMENT, 
AND  DEMOCRACY 

IT  will  simplify  the  study  of  the  subject  very  con- 
siderably if  this  chapter  is  not  encumbered  with 
precise  details  about  the  way  in  which  affairs  were 
conducted  during  the  continuance  of  the  Crown  colony 
system  in  New  South  Wales,  Van  Diemen’s  Land,  and 
later  on  in  Western  Australia.  It  is  somewhat  curious 
to  find  that,  although  the  first  Legislative  Council  was 
opened  in  Sydney  in  1824,  it  was  1838  before  the 
Press  and  public  were  admitted  to  its  deliberations. 
The  wealthy  people  of  New  South  Wales  had  very 
lofty  notions  of  their  own  importance,  and  regarded 
themselves  as  a class  which  should  possess  privileges 
which  the  humbler  classes  of  the  community  should 
not  enjoy.  It  will  hardly  be  believed  that  when  it  was 
proposed  to  confer  responsible  government  upon  New 
South  Wales,  these  ultra-conservatives  actually  desired 
that  the  Constitution  should  be  modelled  upon  that  of 
Great  Britain  in  all  essential  particulars ; and  the  fact 
should  neither  be  overlooked  nor  admitted  from  these 
pages  that  the  preposterous  and  happily  futile  attempt 
was  made  to  create  a hereditary  titled  aristocracy  in 
New  South  Wales,  from  whose  ranks  the  membership  of 
the  Upper  House  should  be  supplied.  One  feels  inclined, 

147 


148 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


at  this  distance  of  time,  to  regard  this  absurd  proposi- 
tion as  a huge  joke,  but  it  was  advanced  in  all  earnest- 
ness and  sincerity,  and  if  they  could  have  managed  it, 
New  South  Wales  would  have  had  its  House  of  Lords, 
only  without  the  name.  Honourable  Councillors  were 
to  be  members  for  life,  and  their  heirs  were  to  succeed 
them  in  Council  membership.  The  proposal  was 
carried  even  so  far  as  to  have  it  referred  to  a committee, 
and  a Bill  was  actually  drafted  by  that  committee  to 
have  the  hereditary  idea  given  effect  to.  Outside,  how- 
ever, a strong  agitation  was  promoted  against  it ; the 
people  declared  in  plain  terms  that  they  would  tolerate 
no  Council  established  on  a basis  similar  to  the  English 
House  of  Lords,  and  when  the  Bill  came  on  for  con- 
sideration in  the  Council  the  clause  which  provided  for  a 
hereditary  titled  aristocracy  was  excised. 

The  first  Parliament  under  responsible  Government 
was  opened  in  Sydney  on  May  22,  1856.  It  consisted 
of  two  Houses ; the  Legislative  Council  comprised 
twenty-one  members,  of  whom  not  more  than  one-fifth 
might  be  persons  holding  office  of  profit  under  the 
Crown.  The  members  of  the  Council  were  nominated 
by  the  Crown,  and  the  appointment  of  its  president  was 
vested  in  the  Crown  also.  The  Legislative  Assembly 
consisted  of  fifty-four  members,  none  of  whom,  excepting 
the  then  recognised  members  of  the  Ministry  or  other 
Ministers,  not  being  more  than  five,  could  hold  offices  of 
profit  under  the  Crown.  Qualified  electors  were  required 
to  be  owners  of  a freehold  of  the  value  of  £i00y  £10 
householders,  occupiers  or  leaseholders,  persons  paying 
;^’40  a year  for  board  and  lodging,  lodgers  or  sub- 
tenants paying  ^10  per  annum,  persons  in  receipt  of  a 
salary  of  £100  and  over  per  annum,  and  holders  of 
pastoral  licenses.  Persons  qualified  to  be  electors  were 
qualified  to  be  members  of  the  House,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  ministers  of  religion,  who  were  specially 


REPRESENTATIVE  GOVERNMENT  149 

disqualified  for  membership.  This  was  the  basis  upon 
which  the  system  of  representative  or  responsible 
Government  was  begun  in  Australia — one  House 
nominated  by  the  Crown,  the  other  elected  by  such  of 
the  people  as  possessed  the  necessary  qualification.  On 
November  21,  1856,  the  first  Parliament  under  respon- 
sible and  representative  Government  met  in  Melbourne, 
and  three  years  afterwards,  namely,  on  October  13, 
1859,  Victoria  elected  its  Parliament  for  the  first  time 
under  manhood  suffrage.  Queensland's  first  Parliament 
under  responsible  Goverment  met  on  May  29,  i860  ; 
South  Australia's  on  April  22,  1859. 

Originally  established  as  dependencies  of  New  South 
Wales — New  Zealand  also  began  its  career  as  a 
dependency  of  the  Mother  Colony — the  time  came  when 
the  desire  to  manage  their  own  affairs  manifested  itself 
in  the  other  settled  portions  of  Australia.  Victoria 
separated  from  New  South  Wales,  and  Queensland  also 
resolved  to  carve  out  its  own  destinies.  Tasmania  had 
freed  itself  from  the  connection,  and  South  Australia 
had  its  own  separate  constitution.  Western  Australia 
still  remained  a Crown  colony  whilst  all  the  others 
enjoyed  the  blessings  of  self-government,  and  as  a con- 
sequence it  lagged  behind.  No  sooner  were  Victoria 
and  Queensland  left  to  take  care  of  themselves  than  a 
wave  of  progression  swept  over  them,  and  the  Mother 
Colony  also  began  to  flourish  from  the  moment  that 
representative  and  responsible  Government  was  conferred 
upon  it.  It  was  in  Victoria,  however,  that  the  seeds  of 
democracy  may  be  said  to  have  first  taken  root.  Whilst 
it  made  both  branches  of  its  Legislature  elective.  New 
South  Wales  and  Queensland  adhered  to  the  nomina- 
tive system  for  their  Upper  House,  and  men  sum- 
moned to  these  Councils  by  the  Crown  were  practically 
installed  there  for  life,  so  long  as  they  committed 
no  act  to  nullify  the  continuance  of  their  member- 


150  AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 

ship.  Under  this  conservative  system  the  Crown 
always  exercised  a strong  control  over  the  legis- 
lation submitted  to  Parliament  for  its  consideration. 
Under  the  nominative  system  the  Legislative  Councils 
were  independent  bodies,  in  no  way  amenable  to  public 
opinion.  Their  members  had  no  constituencies  to  face, 
and  deadlocks  between  both  branches  of  the  Legislature 
were  not  infrequent.  It  has  been  argued  against  the 
elective  system  that,  if  it  were  applied  to  both  Houses 
of  Parliament,  deadlocks  would  occur  oftener,  because 
one  House  would  be  in  a position  to  declare  itself  to  be 
equally  as  representative  as  the  other.  The  history  of 
Legislative  Councils  under  the  nominated  system  has 
proved  the  contrary  to  be  the  case,  not  even  forgetting 
that  historic  period  in  Victoria  when  the  conflict  between 
the  Council  and  Legislative  Assembly  led  to  such 
serious  results  and  for  a time  paralysed  the  administra- 
tion of  affairs.  But,  taken  as  a whole,  these  deadlocks 
have  more  rarely  happened  in  the  Colony  whose 
Houses  are  both  elective  than  in  those  which  have 
adhered  to  the  mixed  elective  and  nominative  principle. 
Although  Councils  which  have  not  been  amenable  to 
public  opinion,  because  of  their  creation  by  the  Crown, 
have  upon  occasion  rendered  signal  service  by  standing 
as  an  interposing  obstacle  against  ill-considered  or  panic 
legislation  ; and  although  an  elective  Chamber  has  put 
its  veto  upon  the  oft-repeated  will  of  the  Legislative 
Assembly,  still  the  general  experience  of  Colonial 
Parliaments  shows  that  the  elective  system  applied  to 
both  Chambers,  besides  being  more  suitable  to  colonial 
requirements,  would  be  the  system  of  Parliamentary 
Government  most  acceptable  to  the  people.  That  is 
now  clearly  the  trend  of  popular  opinion  and  sentiment 
all  through  the  Australasian  Colonies,  and  the  author 
has  not  the  slightest  doubt  that  if  the  various  States 
of  the  Commonwealth  continue  their  two  Chambers, 


REPRESENTATIVE  GOVERNMENT  151 

they  will  abolish  the  system  of  Governmental  nomi- 
nations to  the  Upper  House. 

Starting  its  career  upon  lines  purely  democratic, 
Victoria  lost  no  time  in  pronouncing  for  manhood 
suffrage,  and  set  the  example  of  reform  in  many  direc- 
tions. One  of  its  earliest  and  most  successful  efforts 
was  to  obtain  a very  material  reform  of  the  land  laws. 
Before  it  had  representative  and  responsible  government 
conferred  upon  it,  the  squatters  were  masters  in  Vic- 
toria. They  held  enormous  areas  of  country  without 
paying  much  for  the  privilege,  and  a system  of  land 
monopoly  sprang  up  which  was  exceedingly  detrimental 
to  the  Colony’s  progress.  To  put  an  end  to  this  condi- 
tion of  things  the  democratic  statesmen  of  Victoria  first 
directed  their  attention  to  that  object.  The  movement 
brought  many  men  prominently  to  the  front,  amongst 
them  Mr.  Wilson  Gray,  and  others  equally  earnest  and 
persistent.  Population  was  then  pouring  into  the  Colony 
at  a rapid  rate,  and  the  question  that  concerned  these 
reformers  was.  What  should  be  done  with  those  who 
came  amongst  them,  not  to  dig  for  gold,  but  to  settle  on 
the  land  ? Drastic  reform  of  the  land  laws  was  the  out- 
come of  this  agitation.  Opportunities  were  afforded  to 
the  poor  as  well  as  to  the  rich  to  obtain  land  for  settle- 
ment, and  from  that  day  up  till  now  the  land  system  of 
Victoria  has  been  passing  through  an  amending  process 
most  conducive  to  the  close  settlement  of  the  people 
upon  the  soil. 

In  South  Australia  both  Houses  of  Parliament  are 
elective.  The  Legislative  Council  consists  of  twenty- 
four  members,  and  the  House  of  Assembly  fifty-four. 
The  qualification  of  electors  for  the  Lower  House  is 
manhood  suffrage — one  man  one  vote — and  the  votes 
are  recorded  by  ballot.  The  term  of  a Parliament  for 
the  House  of  Assembly  is  three  years,  and  elections  for 
the  Legislative  Council  are  held  whenever  vacancies 


152 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


occur  by  rotation.  The  members  of  both  Houses  are 
paid  ^^200  per  annum  each,  besides  travelling  expenses 
and  free  passes  on  the  railroads.  In  1894  womanhood 
suffrage  was  introduced  for  House  of  Assembly  elections 
only. 

In  Tasmania  both  Houses  are  elective.  The  Legisla- 
tive Council  consists  of  eighteen  members  elected  for 
six  years  ; and  the  House  of  Assembly  is  elected  for 
three  years.  The  franchise  is  within  the  reach  of  every 
adult  wage-earner  for  the  House  of  Assembly,  but 
as  in  South  Australia,  Western  Australia,  and  Vic- 
toria, certain  qualifications  are  required  to  enable  per- 
sons to  vote  at  elections  for  the  Legislative  Council. 
The  principle  of  one  man  one  vote  has  not  yet  been 
introduced  into  Tasmania;  the  extraordinary  anomaly 
still  exists  in  its  electoral  system  that  some  electors  are 
entitled  to  vote  in  two  or  more  electoral  districts.  Thus 
it  happened  that  in  the  last  elections  held  there  electors 
were  found  voting  as  under  : — 


For  Council 

— 

For  House  of  Assembly — 

590 

electors  had  2 votes. 

1,204 

electors  had  2 votes. 

98 

n 

3 

V 

156 

>) 

3 yy 

32 

)) 

4 

)) 

95 

}) 

4 

II 

)} 

5 

)) 

49 

)) 

5 yy 

3 

)) 

6 

)) 

19 

)> 

6 ,, 

I 

)) 

7 

)> 

13 

)) 

7 

II 

)) 

8 „ 

4 

y) 

9 

I 

yy 

II  „ 

I 

yy 

12  „ 

Thus  beyond  those  who  could  vote  in  one  electorate 
only,  there  were  735  electors  who  exercised  1,682  votes 
for  the  Council,  and  1,553  electors  who  possessed  3,853 
votes  amongst  them  for  the  House  of  Assembly. 
Doubtless  Tasmania  will  soon  follow  the  example  of 
other  colonies  and  allow  one  vote  only  to  each  qualified 
elector  for  both  Houses. 


REPRESENTATIVE  GOVERNMENT 


153 


There  are  four  paid  Ministers  of  the  Crown  in  Tas- 
mania, the  Premier  and  Attorney-General  receiving 
;^i,ooo  a year,  and  the  three  other  Ministers  £7^0  each. 
There  is  also  a Minister  without  portfolio  or  pay. 
Members  of  Parliament  receive  ;^ioo  each  per  annum. 

In  Western  Australia  the  Legislative  Council  and 
Legislative  Assembly  are  elective.  From  the  Council, 
members  retire  in  succession  according  to  seniority,  and 
the  duration  of  membership  of  the  Legislative  Assembly 
used  to  be  four  years  (unless  dissolved  in  the  meantime), 
but  the  triennial  system  has  now  been  introduced. 
Members  are  not  paid  for  their  services.  The  only 
reimbursement  they  receive  is  a free  railway  pass  over 
all  Government  lines,  and  by  courtesy  the  same  privilege 
is  extended  to  them  on  lines  belonging  to  private  com- 
panies. The  number  of  members  in  the  Legislative 
Council  is  thirty,  and  of  the  Legislative  Assembly  forty- 
four,  but  the  latter  has  been  increased  to  fifty.  The 
franchise  for  the  Legislative  Council  is  upon  an  extended 
basis,  and  for  the  Legislative  Assembly  every  adult  man 
who  has  resided  in  Western  Australia  for  one  year  is 
entitled  to  be  registered  as  a voter. 

The  Ministry  consists  of  seven,  six  of  whom  are  paid, 
and  the  seventh  is  without  portfolio.  The  Premier  gets 
£1,200  a year,  and  the  five  other  Ministers  1,000  each. 

In  Queensland  the  system  of  a nominated  Legislative 
Council  still  prevails.  The  number  of  members  is  un- 
limited, and  the  present  number  is  forty-one.  The 
Governor,  besides  appointing  the  President,  summons 
to  the  Council  such  persons  as  he  thinks  fit,  provided 
that  not  less  than  four-fifths  consist  of  persons  not 
holding  any  office  of  emolument  under  the  Crown, 
except  officers  of  his  Majesty’s  sea  and  land  forces  on 
full  or  half  pay,  or  retired  officers  on  pensions.  The 
tenure  of  seats  in  the  Legislative  Council  is  life.  Mem- 
bers receive  no  reimbursement ; they  get  a free  railway 


154 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


pass.  The  Legislative  Assembly  consists  of  seventy- 
two  members,  who  are  each  paid  ;^^300  per  annum,  with 
free  railway  pass  and  travelling  expenses  to  and  from 
the  Session.  The  duration  of  the  Legislative  Assembly 
is  three  years,  and  adult  suffrage  is  the  qualification  of 
electors  after  six  months’  residence  in  an  electoral  dis- 
trict. Elections  are  conducted  by  ballot.  The  Chamber 
elects  its  own  Speaker. 

Queensland  has  eight  paid  Ministers  and  one  without 
portfolio.  The  Premier  gets  ^1,300  a year,  and  the  rest 
of  the  Ministers  ^1,000  each. 

In  Victoria  the  Legislative  Council  comprises  forty- 
eight  members,  and  the  membership  of  the  Lower 
House  is  ninety-five.  Legislative  Councillors  receive  no 
payment,  and  the  members  of  the  Legislative  Assembly 
are  paid  £;\oo  a year  each.  Ministers  are  voted  a lump 
sum,  and  they  divide  it  amongst  themselves  in  certain 
proportions.  One-third  of  the  Legislative  Council 
retires  every  two  years.  The  tenure  of  seats  in  the 
Legislative  Assembly  is  three  years. 

The  New  South  Wales  Parliament  consists  of  66 
members  of  the  Legislative  Council  and  125  in  the 
Assembly.  The  former  get  no  pay,  but  are  allowed  a 
free  railway  pass,  and  the  members  of  the  Legislative 
Assembly  receive  ;£^300  a year  each,  with  free  railway 
pass.  New  South  Wales  has  nine  Ministers  of  the 
Crown  and  one  without  portfolio,  who  is  Vice-President 
of  the  Legislative  Council.  Two  of  the  nine  draw 
£1,820  of  salary  per  annum,  and  the  salaries  of  the 
other  seven  are  fixed  at  ^1,370. 

Democracy  has  been  marching  steadily  ahead  all  over 
Australia.  The  example  set  by  Victoria  has  led  to  the 
extension  of  the  franchise  in  other  colonies,  and  they 
are  all  gradually  approaching  that  point  when  it  can  be 
truly  said  of  them  that  in  their  State  affairs  no  less  than 
in  their  P'edcral  concerns  they  have  government  of  the 


REPRESENTATIVE  GOVERNMENT 


155 


people,  by  the  people,  and  for  the  people.  The  only 
relics  of  Conservatism  that  still  remain  in  two  of  them 
are  those  which  confer  upon  the  Government  of  the  day 
the  right  to  call  whomsoever  it  pleases  to  the  Upper 
House.  As  the  author  has  before  indicated,  a strong 
current  of  public  feeling  has  set  in  against  these  nomi- 
nated Chambers  in  New  South  Wales,  Queensland,  and 
New  Zealand.  Many  there  are  who  advocate  that  there 
should  be  no  Upper  Houses  at  all,  and  that,  with  the 
Referendum  in  force,  one  House  is  all  that  is  required. 
That  would  certainly  be  the  simplest  method  of  effecting 
a reform  which  would  bring  parliamentary  institutions 
into  greater  popularity,  whilst  lessening  the  cost  very 
considerably.  The  functions  of  individual  States,  now 
that  a Federal  Government  has  been  established,  will  not 
be  so  varied  or  important  as  they  have  been  in  the  past, 
and  this  is  a very  strong  argument  in  favour  of  the  State 
parliamentary  system  being  remodelled  either  upon  the 
lines  of  the  Referendum  and  one  Chamber,  or  two  elec- 
tive Houses  with  a greatly  reduced  membership  in  each. 
In  the  past  there  has  been  a far  too  slavish  observance 
of  the  English  parliamentary  system  under  conditions 
vastly  different ; the  number  of  members  in  each  branch 
of  the  Colonial  Legislatures  has  been  out  of  all  propor- 
tion to  the  population,  and  the  cost  has  been  heaped  up 
tremendously.  To  people  in  Great  Britain  it  must 
seem  absolutely  ridiculous  that  the  parliamentary 
system  should  be  pushed  to  the  extreme  length  it  is  in 
Colonies  where  the  whole  of  the  people  only  number  a 
few  hundred  thousand,  and  in  others  even  where  the 
population  is  about  a fifth  or  sixth  of  that  of  London. 
They  will  realise  the  absurdity  of  this  by  reference  to 
the  statistics  at  the  end  of  this  volume,  and  by  reading 
the  chapter  devoted  to  the  subject  in  that  portion  of  the 
book  which  deals  with  New  Zealand  as  the  place  par  ex- 
cellence of  over-government,  parliamentary  and  otherwise. 


CHAPTER  XV 


AUSTRALIAN  SOCIETY 


CONTINENT  settled  as  Australia  was  at  the 


IJL  beginning  of  its  history,  and  peopled  since  by 
persons  from  most  quarters  of  the  globe,  presents 
elements  of  cosmopolitanism  very  similar,  although,  of 
course,  upon  a very  much  smaller  scale,  to  those  of  the 
United  States.  There  is  a free-and-easy  style  about 
Australia  and  Australians  which  is  absent  from  older 
countries,  and  the  conventionalities  of  the  latter  are  not 
observed  with  anything  like  the  same  adherence  to 
punctilious  details  in  social  intercourse.  People  out 
there  mix  more  freely  with  one  another  than  they  do  in 
England  ; there  are  not  the  same  class  distinctions  nor 
the  frigid  stiffness  that  is  encountered  in  the  old  world, 
no  titled  aristocracy  to  impress  other  mortals  with  their 
superiority  or  of  their  assumed  creation  from  a different 
kind  of  clay  ; no  bourgeoisie  to  look  down  in  its  turn 
upon  those  who  are  inferior  to  them  in  social  position 
or  wealth.  Mix  with  any  crowd  you  like,  ride  in  trains 
or  tramcars,  travel  on  steamboats  or  walk  through  the 
streets  of  any  colonial  city,  the  same  spirit  of  manly 
independence  and  equality  as  men  and  women  strikes 
you  as  the  main  characteristic  of  colonial  society.  It  is 
true  enough  that  sometimes  you  will  find  people  giving 
themselves  airs,  either  because  they  are  richer  or  do  not 


AUSTRALIAN  SOCIETY 


157 


soil  their  hands  in  earning  a livelihood.  Women  are 
more  prone  to  do  this  than  men,  and  to  form  little 
exclusive  cliques  or  sets  amongst  themselves  ; but  as 
a rule  people  of  this  description  are  the  parvenus  of 
colonial  society,  and  they  only  get  laughed  at.  In  the 
theatres  the  artisan  and  his  wife  sit  alongside  the 
Supreme  Court  Judge  and  his  wife,  or  the  opulent 
squatter  and  his  lady ; their  pews  may  be  side  by  side 
in  church  ; and  you  will  find  them  travelling  in  the 
same  class  by  rail  or  steamboat.  At  public  functions 
there  is  no  distinction  of  classes.  You  attend  a 
Governor’s  levee,  and  the  chances  are  that  you  will 
meet  the  barber  who  has  shaved  you  that  morning,  or 
the  tailor  who  has  made  your  clothes.  You  don’t  con- 
sider either  of  them  a bit  out  of  place  ; they  consider  they 
are  as  good  as  you  are,  and  the  chances  are  that  morally 
and  physically  they  are  your  superiors.  No  one  except 
a cad  would  say  that  they  had  no  right  to  present 
themselves  at  these  functions.  You  may  not  see  them 
at  other  functions  where  the  Governor,  like  anybody 
else,  has  a right  to  select  his  own  company  ; but  at  the 
levees  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  men  are  to  be  seen, 
as  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  womenfolk  flock  to  the 
receptions  of  the  Governor’s  lady.  A sense  of  equality 
brings  them  there — a feeling  on  the  part  of  Mrs.  Brown 
that  she  is  just  as  good  as  Mrs.  Jones,  and  that  Mrs. 
Jones  has  not  been  modelled  out  of  better  clay  than 
herself  Self-esteem  and  self-respect  will  not  allow 
her  to  suppose  that  she  is  inferior  as  a woman  to  any- 
body else  more  fortunate  in  worldly  possessions,  or 
whose  husband  has  been  more  successful  in  business, 
speculation,  or  official  promotion  than  her  own.  The 
colonial  woman  tolerates  no  nonsense  of  that  sort ; 
and  just  as  Jack  thinks  himself  as  good  as  his  master 
in  the  colonies,  so  the  respectable  woman  recognises 
no  individual  superiority  in  her  sex,  arising  from  mere 


158  AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 

birth  or  better  opportunities.  She  may  recognise 
superior  natural  gifts  or  educational  acquirements  ; may 
feel  that  she  would  like  to  be  as  well  off  as  Mrs.  Jones, 
but  there  will  be  no  admission  beyond  that — no  conces- 
sion of  a kind  to  suggest  any  acknowledged  inequality 
in  their  origin,  any  class  distinction  placing  Mrs.  Jones 
on  a higher  plane  of  womanhood,  as  a woman.  This 
attitude  of  original  equality  is  everywhere  to  be 
observed  amongst  men  and  women  alike,  and  that  it  is 
which  constitutes  the  great  difference  there  is  between 
communities  of  the  old  world  and  the  new.  Birth 
rank  counts  for  nothing ; honour,  fair-dealing  and 
respectability  for  everything.  And  that  is  how  it 
should  be. 

Of  course,  there  are  some  people,  men  and  women 
alike,  who  consider  themselves  better  than  others, 
because  they  are  in  more  affluent  circumstances  than 
their  neighbours,  and  it  not  infrequently  happens  that 
persons  of  this  description  are  amongst  the  most  vulgar 
in  the  community.  Like  beggars  mounted,  they  ride 
their  horse  to  death,  and  render  themselves  contemptible 
in  many  ways.  As  a rule,  they  have  had  very  humble 
beginnings,  but  opulence  turns  their  heads,  and,  like  all 
upstarts,  they  are  invariably  found  putting  on  side,’'  as 
the  colonial  saying  goes,  and  making  themselves 
generally  ridiculous.  This  self-assertiveness  on  the 
part  of  some  colonials  who  have  acquired  wealth  renders 
them  very  objectionable ; and  the  most  intolerable 
specimen  of  colonial  you  can  possibly  meet  with  is  the 
woman  who  has  graduated  from  the  washtub  or  the 
kitchen  to  a big  mansion  in  a fashionable  suburb,  and 
lolls  about  in  her  well-cushioned  landau,  and  has  a 
liveried  footman  to  open  the  carriage  door  when  she 
drives  out  to  do  some  shopping,  or  to  call  at  Govern- 
ment House,  as  the  case  may  be.  Women  of  this 
description  are  by  no  means  few  all  over  the  Colonies, 


AUSTRALIAN  SOCIETY 


159 


and  they  only  earn  for  themselves  the  contempt  of 
others  who  are  familiar  with  their  antecedents.  There 
is  no  form  of  aristocracy  so  objectionable  as  the 
aristocracy  of  wealth,  and  the  nouveaux  riches  of  the 
Colonies  are  the  most  contemptible  creatures  one  can 
possibly  encounter  at  the  Antipodes.  Sometimes  the 
fluctuations  of  fortune  inseparable  from  colonial  life  put 
a sudden  stop  to  their  arrogance  and  pride  and  assump- 
tion of  superiority,  without  education  or  refinement  to 
sustain  them,  in  the  rdles  of  purse-proud  parvenus.  It 
has  been  generally  found  that  those  who  have  made  a 
sudden  transition  from  poverty  to  wealth  become  in- 
tensely conservative  in  their  ideas.  They  will  worship 
any  one  with  a title  whom  they  chance  to  come  in 
contact  with,  and  will  move  heaven  and  earth,  and  all 
the  political  influence  which  wealth  gives  them,  to  secure 
titles  for  themselves.  The  author  has  frequently  heard 
Australian  democracy  jibed  at,  because  titles  were 
apparently  so  highly  appreciated  out  there  ; but  the  fact 
of  the  matter  is  that  the  mass  of  the  Australian  people 
do  not  care  a snap  of  the  fingers  for  titles,  and  have 
a very  poor  opinion  of  those  who  accept  them.  There- 
fore, it  is  not  right  to  blame  Australian  democracy,  or 
to  declare  that  it  belies  its  professions,  because  a few 
would  dearly  like  to  have  titles  conferred  upon  them, 
and  are  constantly  laying  themselves  out  for  the  supposed 
“ distinction.'^  Its  indiscriminate  bestowal  has  brought 
the  institution  more  into  contempt  than  otherwise,  and 
little  wonder  it  is  that  be-knighted  Australia " has 
formed  the  subject  of  so  much  ridicule  amongst  those 
who  consider  that  titles  are  altogether  out  of  place 
on  that  democratic  Continent. 

What  must  be  most  obnoxious  to  men  who  have  seen 
Imperial  service  is  the  great  tendency  of  colonial 
volunteer  officers  to  prefix  “Captain”  or  “Major”  or 
“ Colonel  ” to  their  names  in  their  ordinary  civilian  life. 


i6o  AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 

America  is  always  cited  as  the  country  where  every 
one  you  meet  is  a Captain  or  a Colonel ; but,  after  being 
in  the  United  States,  the  author  can  truly  say  that  in 
the  Australian  Colonies  and  New  Zealand,  in  proportion 
to  their  population,  one  will  hear  more  people  captained 
and  majored  and  coloneled  than  anywhere  else  on  the 
earth’s  surface.  Men  who  have  never  smelt  powder, 
whose  daily  life  is  behind  a counter  or  in  an  office, 
make  no  scruple  of  eternally  calling  themselves  captains 
and  majors  if  that  is  their  rank  in  a volunteer  corps  ; 
and  it  is  really  sickening  to  find  ex-linen  drapers  anc} 
the  like,  when  they  get  into  Parliament,  insisting  upon 
these  volunteer  prefixes  being  placed  before  their 
names  in  the  official  records.  People  at  a distance  who 
don’t  know  them  naturally  conclude  that  they  are  retired 
captains  and  majors  of  the  Imperial  Army,  whereas  they 
are  nothing  but  ex-drapers  and  other  civilians  pure  and 
simple.  This  is  a practice  which  the  Australian 
democracy  should  put  down  by  heaping  torrents  of 
ridicule  upon  it  In  New  Zealand  the  democracy  is  of 
a sort  too  spurious  to  do  anything  in  that  way. 

City  life  in  Australia,  say  in  such  capitals  as  Mel- 
bourne and  Sydney,  is  full  of  gaiety  and  enjoyment. 
They  are  an  amusement-loving  people,  and,  whether  it 
be  a race-meeting,  a bicycle  championship,  a cricket 
match,  a football  match,  theatre,  circus  or  concert,  they 
flock  in  large  numbers  to  them  all.  The  author  has 
seen  as  many  as  twenty-five  thousand  people  assemble  at 
a football  match  between  local  clubs,  that  number  and 
more  at  a game  of  cricket,  more  still  at  a bicycle 
championship,  and  at  the  principal  race-meetings  the 
attendances  are  very  large.  Melbourne  and  Sydney 
are  the  two  great  nurseries  of  cricket  in  Australia,  and 
both  cities  have  turned  out  some  phenominally  good 
men  in  all  branches  of  the  game — batters,  bowlers, 
fielders,  and  wicket-keepers.  South  Australia  has  also 


AUSTRALIAN  SOCIETY  t6i 

produced  some  excellent  cricketers,  and  Tasmanian 
men  have  occasionally  come  to  the  front.  Cricket  is, 
undoubtedly,  the  national  game  of  Australia,  and  the 
men  there  have  a great  advantage  over  Englishmen 
because  the  climate  permits  of  a far  longer  season  than 
in  England.  The  sending  of  Australian  cricketers  to 
Great  Britain  and  America  from  time  to  time  has 
proved  a great  incentive  to  Australian  cricket,  as  well 
as  the  return  visits  of  English  teams.  Three  games  of 
football  are  played  there  ; namely — the  Victorian,  the 
Association,  and  Rugby.  In  the  Rugby  game  Colonial 
Clubs  have  benefited  much  from  the  visit  of  the  first 
English  team  some  years  ago.  All  outdoor  sports  are 
well  patronised  in  Melbourne  ; and  bicycle  racing  has 
come  wonderfully  well  to  the  front  because  of  the 
improved  conditions  under  which  they  are  held  and  the 
liberal  stakes  offered.  The  Austral  wheel-race  is  a 
great  event,  and  the  man  who  wins  it  need  do  nothing 
more  for  his  support  during  the  remainder  of  the  year  ; 
the  prize  is  big  enough  to  keep  him  well  provided  for  all 
that  time. 

But  the  greatest  of  all  sights  in  Australia  is  Cup 
Week  at  Flemington.  It  is  a carnival  in  every  sense  of 
the  word,  and  people  flock  to  it  from  all  parts  of  the 
Colonies  and  many  places  beyond.  That  is  the  time  to 
see  the  people  turn  out  in  gayest  attire,  and  the  author 
has  seen  as  many  as  from  one  hundred  and  twenty 
thousand  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  assemble  at 
Flemington  on  Cup  day.  He  has  not  yet  seen  the 
Derby,  but  he  has  been  told  by  one  who  has  that  there 
is  no  racecourse  in  the  world,  except  Montreal,  in 
Canada,  which  comes  up  to  Flemington  on  the  day  the 
Cup  is  run.  The  lawn  presents  one  of  the  gayest  and 
liveliest  sights  to  be  seen  anywhere.  The  costumes  are 
magnificent  and  costly  ; some  of  them  are  expressly 
imported  from  Worth's  for  the  occasion,  and  for  months 

12 


i62  AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 

before  the  event  comes  off — the  first  Tuesday  in 
November — all  the  big  shops  of  Melbourne  and  Sydney 
are  taxed  to  the  utmost  in  executing  the  orders  of  their 
lady  customers  for  the  great  carnival  which  stretches 
over  an  entire  week — the  Derby  on  Saturday,  the  Cup 
on  Tuesday,  the  Oaks  on  Thursday,  and  the  steeple- 
chase on  the  Saturday  following.  Flemington  is  a 
splendidly-appointed  racecourse  ; the  Club  is  a wealthy 
one,  gives  big  stakes,  and  has  always  a sound  balance  to 
carry  forward  from  year  to  year,  the  bulk  of  which  goes 
to  the  improvement  of  the  property,  under  the  able 
supervision  of  Mr.  Byron  Moore.  What  a spectacle 
Flemington  is  on  Cup  day  especially,  its  hill  and  stands 
crowded  in  every  part,  the  grand  stand  and  lawn  imme- 
diately below  and  in  front  of  it,  filled  to  overflowing  and 
the  Flat  a sea  of  heads.  Yet  that  great  multitude 
of  people  is  conveyed  to  and  from  the  course  by  rail 
with  clockwork  regularity,  almost  always  without 
accident  and  with  a despatch  that  is  marvellous  to 
behold,  and  without  crushing  or  disorder  of  any  kind. 
The  author  has  never  seen  anything  to  equal  that  piece 
of  railway  management  anywhere.  Speculation  is  very 
brisk  at  Flemington,  as  it  is  upon  most  Australian  race- 
courses, and  vast  sums  of  money  are  lost  and  won. 
The  gambling  spirit  seizes  hold  of  most  people,  and  it 
is  surprising  the  number  of  small  boys  and  girls  who 
take  an  interest  in  Australia’s  greatest  racing  event. 
They  talk  about  it  months  before  it  comes  ofif,  and  it  is 
safe  to  say  that  the  majority  of  them  will  take  a risk  of 
some  sort  upon  a probable  winner ; these  youthful 
speculators  generally  pin  their  faith  on  the  popular 
favourite,  and  when  there  is  a “ boil  over  ” their  small 
losses  do  not  trouble  them  a great  deal.  Perhaps  there 
is  no  part  of  the  world  where  general  public  interest 
gets  centred  upon  a horse-race  to  the  extent  it  does 
upon  the  Melbourne  Cuj;.  Abbot’s  leviathan  “sweeps” 


AUSTRALIAN  SOCIETY 


163 


and  their  tempting  possible  returns  for  an  investment  of 
ten  shillings  and  a pound  encourage  the  general  interest 
which  is  taken  in  the  event  by  old  and  young.  These 
sweeps  ” are  got  up  in  Hobart,  because  they  are 
unlawful  on  any  part  of  Australian  soil  or  New  Zealand, 
and  Abbot  derives  a splendid  income  from  his  opera- 
tions. The  public  have  confidence  in  him,  and  remit 
their  money  freely.  He  employs  quite  a large  staff  of 
clerks,  as  his  ‘‘sweeps’'  are  drawn  upon  all  the  important 
racing  events  throughout  the  season.  Sometimes  a 
poor  man  gets  back  as  much  as  ^15,000  for  his  ^i,  but 
as  a rule  the  big  prizes  fall  to  people  who  are  well  off. 
Syndicates  are  formed  to  purchase  a great  many  tickets 
and  they  often  get  nothing,  while  the  holders  of  single 
tickets  occasionally  come  in  for  big  prizes.  The 
author  knows  of  two  telegraph  clerks  who  divided 
£7^000  between  them,  and  of  an  invalid  in  straitened 
circumstances  who  came  in  for  i^i  3,000  from  Abbot,  but 
did  not  survive  long  enough  to  derive  much  benefit 
from  his  windfall.  Horse-racing  is  quite  a passion  with 
Australians,  and  it  is  only  a comparative  few  who  do 
not  enjoy  it.  Opportunities  for  indulging  the  national 
propensity  are  plentiful  enough ; and,  as  Mark  Twain 
facetiously  expresses  it  in  his  “More  Tramps  Abroad,” 
an  Australian  can  have  a church  next  door  and  a 
racecourse  across  the  road.  Mark  goes  very  near  the 
truth. 

If  you  want  to  see  Melbourne  people  enjoy  them- 
selves of  an  evening,  go  to  the  theatre,  especially  on  a 
Saturday  night,  which  is  the  fashionable  evening  in  the 
Victorian  metropolis.  A packed  house  everywhere,  and 
the  dress  circle  an  array  of  brilliancy  and  colour — costly 
dresses  and  sparkling  diamonds  all  around — dresses  not 
quite  so  decollete^  perhaps,  as  those  which  one  sees  at  the 
Grand  Opera  House  in  Paris,  but  low  enough  never- 
theless to  display  a considerable  portion  of  the  human 


i64  AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 

anatomy.  And  how  that  audience,  which  can  rarely  be 
accused  of  hypercriticism,  enjoys  itself  and  applauds 
those  who  contribute  to  their  enjoyment ! Once  a star 
becomes  a favourite  in  Melbourne,  that  star  never  loses 
hold  of  their  good  opinion  and  support.  Even  when 
old  favourites  get  to  the  passe  stage  and  beyond  it,  the 
Melbourne  people  never  forget  what  those  favourites 
once  were,  and  they  will  stick  to  them  to  the  end. 
This  is  a particularly  noticeable  trait  of  the  theatre- 
going public  of  Melbourne,  whose  generous  feelings 
never  get  blunted  because  their  old  favourites  are  no 
longer  what  they  used  to  be.  The  instances  are  many 
where  actors,  actresses,  and  singers  have  been  able  to 
keep  their  heads  well  above  water  in  Melbourne,  when 
they  would  experience  chilling  receptions  elsewhere 
because  of  failing  capacity  to  come  up  to  the  required 
standard  of  strange,  less  tolerant,  and  more  exacting 
audiences.  All  honour,  therefore,  to  Melbourne  play- 
goers for  their  loyalty  and  attachment  to  their  old 
favourites  in  sunshine  and  shadow  alike — in  the  zenith 
of  their  fame  and  in  the  decline  of  their  histrionic  or 
lyric  powers  which  is  the  prelude  to  their  retirement 
from  the  stage. 

If  you  want  to  see  what  Melbourne  city  life  is  in  the 
daytime,  do  the  block ; that  is  to  say,  stroll  round 
Collins  Street  from  its  intersection  with  Elizabeth 
Street,  then  into  Swanson  Street,  down  Bourke  Street, 
then  into  Elizabeth  Street  and  back  to  the  corner  in 
Collins  Street,  from  which  you  have  originally  started. 
That  is  the  Melbourne  block,  but  Collins  and  Swanson 
arc  the  two  sides  of  it  where  the  promenade  is  more 
crowded  and  fashionable.  Between  three  and  five 
o’clock  in  the  afternoon  is  the  time  to  see  the  block  in  all 
its  glitter  and  glory,  or  between  eleven  and  one  on  a 
Saturday.  At  these  hours  you  will  behold  troops  of 
fashionably-attired  ladies  '‘doing  the  block”  as  regularly 


AUSTRALIAN  SOCIETY 


165 


as  people  go  to  church  on  Sundays.  The  Melbourne 
ladies  know  how  to  dress  neatly  and  effectively  without 
overdoing  it,  and  in  this  respect  they  outshine  the 
ladies  of  any  other  Australasian  city  ; that  is  to  say, 
that  in  their  daily  promenades  along  this  favourite 
resort,  you  will  see  better  taste  displayed  by  the  ladies 
of  Melbourne  than  in  any  other  city  south  of  the  Line, 
and  the  author  feels  sure  they  would  hold  their  own  in 
any  of  the  fashionable  promenades  in  Great  Britain. 

One  other  trait  of  the  Melbourne  and  Victorian  people 
must  not  be  overlooked,  because  it  deserves  the  fullest 
recognition.  They  are  genuine  patrons  of  the  fine  arts. 
Proof  of  this  is  to  be  found  in  their  admirable  picture 
gallery  and  in  the  statuary  which  adorns  their  public 
gardens  and  streets.  Painters  and  sculptors  find  Mel- 
bourne a congenial  and  prosperous  place  to  live  in,  as 
the  numbers  of  its  painters  and  sculptors  will  testify. 
Their  studios  are  well  patronised,  and  those  who  can 
afford  it  and  have  cultivated  tastes  do  not  scruple  to 
give  the  local  talent  liberal  commissions  for  what  they 
want.  Musically,  too,  Melbourne  people  are  not  slow 
in  the  bestowal  of  their  appreciation  upon  anything 
really  good  that  is  submitted  to  them  for  their  encourage- 
ment and  support.  How  handsomely  they  have  acted 
in  the  case  of  Miss  Amy  Castles,  a young  lady  who  was 
discovered  to  possess  a voice  of  phenomenal  range  and 
sweetness.  A fund  was  raised  in  Victoria  to  send  this 
budding  prima  donna  to  Europe  for  tuition  and  study. 
About  £%ooo  was  raised  without  any  difficulty,  and  at 
this  moment  Miss  Castles  is  pursuing  her  studies  in 
Paris.  Victoria  is  proud  of  Amy  Castles,  and  some  of 
these  days,  according  to  reliable  accounts,  this  lady  will 
make  a name  for  herself  second  to  none  amongst  the 
soprano  stars  who  have  shone  before  her.  Proud,  too, 
they  are  of  Madame  Melba,  also  a native-born  Australian ; 
and  what  a reception  will  be  hers  when  she  visits  her 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NFAV 


1 66 

native  land  ! It  was  in  the  Melbourne  Town  Hall»  on 
the  occasion  of  her  first  appearance  there,  that  the 
author  had  the  pleasure  of  hearing  this  accomplished 
artiste,  before  she  took  Europe  and  America  by  storm 
in  classic  opera.  Australians  are  anxiously  looking 
forward  to  the  treat  she  will  afford  them  on  her  return, 
and  a most  successful  tour  awaits  her  under  Austral 
skies. 

In  their  homes,  the  people  of  Melbourne,  and  indeed 
of  Victoria  generally,  will  be  found  entertaining  and 
hospitable,  without  the  least  stiffness.  Most  colonial 
ladies  play  and  sing,  and  your  Melbourne  hostess  and 
her  daughters  know  how  to  make  an  evening  enjoyable 
to  their  guests.  There  is  no  stint  to  their  hospitality ; 
they  can  converse  well  and  freely,  and  their  guests  are 
made  to  feel  quite  at  home.  It  is  one  of  the  greatest 
pleasures  of  life  to  enjoy  the  acquaintance  of  a nice  circle 
of  friends  in  Melbourne,  where  stupid  and  irksome  con- 
ventionalities are  ignored,  and  people  comport  themselves 
towards  one  another  with  a kindliness,  naturalness  and 
freedom  which  must  be  highly  appreciated  by  those  who 
have  been  accustomed  to  the  frigid  formalities  of  Europe, 
and  find  that  at  last  they  are  associating  with  people 
who  do  and  say  things  in  a natural  and  common-sense 
sort  of  way.  No  European  artificialism  obtrudes  itself 
into  Australian  homes. 

Mark  Twain  is  quite  correct  in  saying  that  the 
Australians  do  not  seem  to  him  to  differ  noticeably 
from  Americans.  And  neither  do  they.  One  can 
detect  a peculiarity  in  the  pronunciation  of  some  words. 
They  will  say  “te-yown”  for  town,  “che-urch”  for  church, 
and  so  on,  and  they  are  given  to  a rapid  utterance 
which  converts  blue  gum  into  bloogum,''  sea-gull  into 
“cgill,”  and  half-past  into  “hapast'' ; but  they  are  never 
guilty,  except  in  mimicry,  of  such  Cockney  atrocities  of 
speccli  as  “ply  the  gimc”  for  play  the  game,  “ piper ’’ 


AUSTRALIAN  SOCIETY  167 

for  paper,  ‘Mydy  for  lady,  “tyble”  for  table,  or  “wyter” 
for  waiter.  An  Australian  merely  substitutes  i or  y 
for  a when  he  is  mimicking  a London  costermonger. 
That  chambermaid  in  Sydney  referred  to  by  Mark 
Twain  must  have  been  a newly-arrived  Cockney,  or,  if 
Australian-born,  the  daughter  of  a London  costermonger 
from  whom  she  inherited  the  pronunciation.  She  was 
not  a typical  Australian,  and  her  Cockney  pronunciation 
of  words  was  simply  the  result  of  association.  If 
Australians  can  be  accused  of  doing  anything  out  of  the 
common  with  their  native  speech,  it  is  to  drawl  slightly, 
but  never  to  the  extent  Americans  do ; and  perhaps  they 
are  a little  too  much  given  to  the  use  of  slang.  But  that 
is  an  Anglo-Saxon  characteristic  all  the  world  over,  and 
not  peculiarly  Australian. 

Melbourne  has,  of  course,  its  seamy  side,  and  in  some 
of  its  slums  misery,  crime,  and  debauchery  exist  in  just 
the  same  way  as  they  are  to  be  found  in  other  large 
cities.  The  ‘‘  Larrikin  evil  is  a very  pronounced  one 
both  in  Melbourne  and  Sydney,  and  these  young  black- 
guards have  no  respect  either  for  age  or  sex.  They  will 
knock  down  a decrepit  old  man,  rob,  and  maltreat  him 
as  soon  as  they  will  attack  and  rob  younger  people,  and 
in  the  same  way  a woman's  grey  hairs  and  helplessness 
will  not  protect  her.  These  larrikins  are  the  scum  of 
Melbourne  and  Sydney,  and  nothing  but  the  use  of  the 
lash  will  effectually  get  rid  of  them,  just  as  garotting 
was  suppressed  in  Melbourne  by  the  exemplary  sentences 
passed  upon  the  garotting  fraternity  by  Mr.  Justice 
Williams  some  time  ago.  These  larrikins  hound  to- 
gether in  what  are  called  pushes,"  and  terrorize  whole 
neighbourhoods  by  their  acts  of  violence  upon  old  and 
young.  Larrikinism  has  been  allowed  to  get  a firmer 
hold  than  it  could  ever  have  obtained  if  the  magistracy 
had  done  its  duty  at  the  commencement  of  the  organisa- 
tion, and  inflicted  salutary  punishments  when  cases  were 


i68 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


brought  before  them  in  the  courts  by  the  police.  They 
were  dealt  with  too  leniently  at  the  start,  and  so  larri- 
kinism  grew  apace.  Than  the  Melbourne  or  Sydney 
larrikin,  no  viler,  more  brutal  or  cowardly  scoundrel 
haunts  the  streets  of  any  city,  and  nothing  short  of 
the  most  drastic  measures  will  ever  get  rid  of  him. 

Of  Australian  youth  generally,  it  is  only  fair  to  say 
that  they  are  sober  and  well-behaved,  law-abiding  and 
orderly.  Their  sobriety  is  one  of  the  many  excellent 
traits  they  possess,  and  this  fact  must  come  under  the 
notice  of  any  one  who  visits  the  Colonies  for  the  first 
time.  And  in  this  connection  it  must  be  observed  that 
London  itself  might  take  a leaf  out  of  Australia’s  book 
considerably  to  its  advantage.  In  Australia  no  drinking 
shop  is  allowed  to  open  its  doors  on  Sundays.  The 
bars  are  closed  on  the  Sabbath,  and  heavy  penalties 
are  inflicted  if  landlords  are  found  breaking  the  law. 
How  different  things  are  in  London ! where  the  glare 
and  glitter  of  public-houses  on  Sunday  evenings  invite 
people  to  spend  their  money  and  take  more  drink  than 
is  good,  and  certainly  not  necessary,  for  them.  If 
London  reformers  seriously  desire  to  get  rid  of  a great 
evil,  here  is  one  ready  at  their  hand  to  tackle  with  all 
their  might. 

The  ups  and  downs  of  colonial  life  are  sometimes 
most  extraordinary.  Over-speculation  and  bad  invest- 
ments, droughts,  floods,  and  other  misfortunes  are 
known  suddenly  to  make  rich  men  poor ; and  other 
men  rise  as  they  come  down.  These  fluctuations  of 
fortune  afford  a striking  illustration  of  what  may 
happen  to  a man  in  the  Colonies  any  day,  and  wise  is 
he  who,  when  he  acquires  sufficient  for  his  wants  through 
life,  is  satisfied  with  what  he  has  and  sticks  to  it.  But 
there  are  men  who  develop  such  a passion  for  money- 
making that  they  wear  out  their  lives  in  the  process, 
without  social  enjoyments  of  any  kind  or  severance 


AUSTRALIAN  SOCIETY 


169 


from  their  businesses  except  for  nightly  rest.  There 
are  many  such  men  in  Australia ; but  there  are  a great 
many  more  who  take  life  philosophically,  and  if  a turn 
of  adversity  comes,  they  are  too  full  of  energy  to  lie 
quietly  under  the  weight  of  ill-fortune  that  has  assailed 
them.  They  find  ways  to  extricate  themselves  from 
awkward  positions  without  damaging  their  credit,  and 
it  is  this  buoyancy  of  Australian  commercial  life  and 
enterprise  which  pulls  through  many  a man  who  has 
been  upon  the  verge  of  disaster  through  unforeseen  and 
unavoidable  eventualities.  The  brain  of  the  average 
Australian  commercial  man  is  active ; perhaps  the 
brightness  of  Australian  skies  and  the  cheerfulness  of 
his  surroundings  have  something  to  do  with  it ; but,  be 
that  as  it  may,  the  fact  remains  that  he  never  meets 
trouble  half-way,  but  tries  manfully  to  avert  it,  and  in 
doing  this  he  is  full  of  resource,  and  seldom  fails.  There 
is  also  a feeling  of  camaraderie  amongst  Australian  com- 
mercial men  which  comes  to  one's  assistance  in  time  of 
need  and  helps  him  to  surmount  temporary  embarrass- 
ments ; and,  taken  altogether,  ups  and  downs  in  the 
Colonies  are  varying  stages  in  people's  careers  which  are 
accepted  as  they  come  in  that  spirit  of  philosophy  which 
implies  that  everything  has  happened  for  the  best,  and 
the  best  must  therefore  be  made  of  it. 

Although  the  author  has  been  referring  to  Melbourne 
in  this  chapter  upon  Australian  society,  his  observations 
apply  equally  to  Sydney  in  most  particulars.  He  has 
lumped  them  both  together,  because  there  is  really  no 
material  difference  in  the  public  and  private  life  of  these 
two  great  cities.  The  Sydney  people  are  proverbial  for 
their  hospitality  and  for  the  encouragement  they  give  to 
the  arts  and  sciences,  to  the  drama,  to  music,  and  to  all 
sports  and  amusements  out  of  doors.  Kindly  disposed 
and  open-hearted  as  the  Sydney  people  undoubtedly 
are,  they  will  go  to  no  end  of  trouble  in  entertaining 


170 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


any  one  who  is  the  bearer  of  introductions  to  them,  and 
the  visitor  will  carry  the  best  impressions  away  with 
him.  Although  Randwick  has  not  the  same  great 
reputation  that  Flemington  has,  still  a big  meeting  on 
that  course  will  well  repay  a visit.  It  is  curious  to  note 
that  the  horses  run  round  Randwick  in  the  reverse  order 
to  Flemington,  and  that  the  inside  running  is  on  the  left 
at  Flemington  and  on  the  right  at  Randwick.  Private 
benevolence  is  a prevalent  virtue  amongst  the  Sydney 
people,  as  indeed  it  is  amongst  the  Melbournites  and 
the  people  of  Australia  generally,  and  no  deserving 
appeal  is  ever  made  to  them  without  a cheerful  and 
liberal  response.  The  author  believes  that,  so  far  as  the 
benevolent  spirit  of  the  people  is  concerned,  Australia 
will  compare  favourably  with  any  part  of  the  world. 
Local  disasters  are  not  the  only  ones  they  provide  for ; 
they  contribute  as  readily  to  relief  funds  in  connection 
with  calamities  which  occur  at  great  distances  away,  and 
in  this  manner  a system  of  mutual  assistance  has  been 
introduced  which  reflects  infinite  credit  upon  the  Colonies 
and  helps  largely  to  consolidate  them  as  a nation. 

The  average  colonial  girl  is  not  only  well  educated 
from  an  intellectual  point  of  view,  but  in  every  way 
which  is  calculated  to  make  a useful  woman  of  her. 
Mothers  as  a rule  bring  up  their  daughters  in  a practical, 
common-sense  sort  of  way,  and  the  result  is  that  the 
typical  colonial  girl  can  adapt  herself  almost  to  any  cir- 
cumstances in  life.  Indeed,  she  prides  herself  upon  her 
proficiency  in  household  affairs.  The  girls  of  a family 
rival  each  other  in  the  production  of  the  most  dainty 
dishes,  and  great  care  and  attention  are  paid  to  the 
arrangement  and  carrying  out  of  the  various  social 
functions  in  their  households.  Often  the  whole  of  the 
cooking  and  planning  of  a pleasant  luncheon,  afternoon 
tea,  dinner  or  su])per  party  will  be  done  under  the  direct 
supervision  of  the  daughters  of  the  hostess,  and  they  will 


AUSTRALIAN  SOCIETY  171 

with  perfect  aplomb  take  their  full  share  in  the  enter- 
tainment of  their  mother's  guests.  Tennis,  hockey,  golf, 
and  sometimes  bowls,  camping-out,  walking  parties, 
cycling,  riding,  and  driving  provide  them  with  plenty 
of  outdoor  exercise  and  recreation.  Although  colonial 
girls  are  just  as  appreciative  of  the  opposite  sex  as  their 
sisters  in  any  other  land,  they  are  not  at  all  dependent 
upon  them  as  escorts,  and  can  have  what  their  American 
cousins  would  call  a very  good  time  without  them,  as 
their  upbringing  has  made  them  self-possessed  and  self- 
reliant  to  a degree  which  renders  them  independent. 
While  the  frank  and  easy  manners  of  the  colonial  girl 
contrast  pleasantly  with  the  rather  cold  reserve  of  her 
English  cousin,  she  is  quite  able  to  maintain  her  dignity 
and  self-respect.  She  is  natural,  vivacious,  and  com- 
panionable. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

EDUCATION  IN  THE  AUSTRALIAN  COLONIES  AND 
TASMANIA 

IN  dealing  with  this  subject  it  is  necessary  to  set  forth 
the  measures  which  were  adopted  for  the  education 
of  children  in  the  Mother  Colony  before  anything  like  a 
State  system  was  resorted  to,  and  then  to  give  a brief 
outline  of  the  systems  which  are  now  working  in  the 
colonies  of  Australia  and  Tasmania,  as  follows : — 

New  South  Wales. 

During  the  period,  dating  from  its  early  settlement, 
up  to  the  year  1848,  New  South  Wales  had  a system 
of  purely  denominational  education,  and  the  various 
religious  denominations  were  assisted  by  the  Govern- 
ment in  proportion  to  the  amount  which  each  expended 
for  educational  purposes.  In  1839,  a grant  was  made 
for  the  purpose  of  imparting  non-sectarian  instruction  to 
the  children  of  those  parents  who  objected  to  the 
denominational  system.  In  1848,  two  separate  boards 
were  established — one  for  the  administration  of  denomi- 
national education,  and  the  other  for  the  control  and 
management  of  the  undenominational  or  national  schools, 
as  they  were  called.  This  dual  system  existed  for 
eighteen  years,  when  it  was  abolished  by  the  Public 
Schools  Act  of  1866.  This  Act  continued  these  two 
distinct  classes  of  schools,  but  all  schools  receiving  State 

172 


EDUCATION  IN  THE  AUSTRALIAN  COLONIES  173 

aid  were  placed  under  the  control  of  the  Council  of 
Education,  a body  appointed  by  the  Government. 
Under  the  provisions  of  this  Act  the  public  schools  were 
entirely  administered  by  the  Council,  and  the  denomi- 
national schools  were  governed  in  conjunction  with  the 
various  religious  bodies  who  had  founded  them.  In 
1880,  another  change  took  place,  and  State  aid  to 
denominational  schools  was  abolished.  The  Act  of  that 
year  provided  for  the  establishment  and  maintenance  of 
public  schools  to  afford  primary  instruction  to  all  children 
without  sectarian  or  class  distinction.  Provision  was 
also  made  for  superior  public  evening  schools,  and  for 
high  schools  for  boys  and  girls  in  which  students  might 
be  prepared  for  the  University.  It  was  likewise  pro- 
vided that  all  these  schools  should  be  strictly  non- 
sectarian ; but,  at  the  same  time,  an  hour  each  day 
beyond  the  four  hours  for  secular  instruction  exclusively 
might  be  set  apart  for  religious  instruction,  to  be  given 
in  a separate  class-room  by  a clergyman  or  religious 
teacher  of  any  persuasion,  to  children  of  the  same 
persuasion  whose  parents  had  no  objection  to  their 
receiving  such  religious  instruction.  To  some  extent 
this  permission  has  been  taken  advantage  of  by  some  of 
the  religious  denominations,  but  not  by  Roman  Catholics. 
Under  the  New  South  Wales  system  of  public  education 
it  is  compulsory  for  parents  to  send  their  children 
between  the  ages  of  six  and  fourteen  years  to  school  for 
at  least  seventy  days  in  each  year,  unless  just  cause  of 
exemption  can  be  shown,  and  penalties  are  provided  for 
a breach  of  this  provision.  Although  education  is  com- 
pulsory, it  is  not  altogether  free.  Parents  are  required 
to  pay  a weekly  fee  of  threepence  per  child,  but  not 
exceeding  one  shilling  in  all  for  the  children  of  one 
family.  Power  is  given  to  remit  the  fees  where  it  is 
shown  that  the  parents  are  unable  to  pay.  School 
children  are  allowed  to  travel  free  by  rail  to  the  nearest 


174 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


public  or  private  primary  school,  and  also  to  the  superior 
and  high  schools.  Parents  are  not  compelled  to  send 
their  children  to  the  public  schools,  but  the  State  insists 
that  all  children  must  be  educated  somewhere,  and 
therefore  a certain  standard  of  education  must  be 
attained,  whether  that  secular  instruction  be  received  at 
public  or  private  schools.  When  the  census  of  i88i  was 
taken,  it  was  found  that  out  of  751,468  persons 
enumerated,  195,029,  or  very  nearly  26  per  cent.,  were 
unable  to  read  ; the  census  of  1891  showed  that  out 
of  1,123,954  persons  enumerated,  only  244,938,  or  217 
per  cent,  were  unable  to  read.  Included  in  this  number 
were  165,781  children  of  four  years  of  age  and  under  ; 
so  that  there  were  only  78,617  persons,  or  7 per  cent 
of  the  population  five  years  of  age  and  over,  who  were 
unable  to  read.  This  7 per  cent  included  Chinese, 
Polynesians,  and  others,  but  not  aborigines.  Of  5,804 
persons  married  during  1857,  1,646,  or  28*4  per  cent,  were 
unable  to  sign  the  marriage  register.  There  was  a vast 
difference  in  1898,  when  only  17  per  cent  of  those 
married  in  that  year  could  not  sign  the  marriage  register 
except  by  their  marks. 

In  that  year,  according  to  the  table  given  by  Mr. 
T.  A.  Coghlan,  the  eminent  statistician  of  New  South 
Wales,  the  following  are  the  percentages  of  the  various 
Colonies  of  those  who  could  not  sign  the  marriage 
registers  : — 

Percentage 
signing  with  marks. 

New  South  Wales  17 

Victoria  07 

Queensland  3*1 

South  Australia  i'8 

Western  Australia  ...  ...  ...  ...  i*o 

Tasmania  ...  ...  ...  ...  ...  5*9 

New  Zealand 07 

Although  the  compulsory  school  age  in  New  South 

Wales  is  six  to  fourteen,  children  five  years  of  age  are 


EDUCATION  IN  THE  AUSTRALIAN  COLONIES  175 


received  at  the  public  schools,  and  a considerable  number 
of  those  who  have  passed  the  school  age  are  also  to  be 
found  in  State  and  private  schools. 

From  the  time  of  the  withdrawal  of  aid  from  denomi- 
national schools,  up  to  the  end  of  1898,  the  increase  in 
the  average  quarterly  enrolment  at  State  schools  was 
51*2  per  cent.  In  1898,  the  proportion  of  the  population 
enrolled  at  State  schools  was  1 5*3  per  cent. 

The  following  table  (also  from  Mr.  Coghlan's  most 
interesting  volume,  “The  Wealth  and  Progress  of  New 
South  Wales”),  shows  the  number  of  State  schools  in 
each  of  the  Australasian  Colonies  in  1898,  together  with 
the  number  of  scholars  in  average  attendance  : — 


Colony, 

Schools. 

Teachers. 

Scholars  in 
average 
attendance. 

Average  attend- 
ance of  Pupils 
per  school. 

New  South  Wales 

2,602 

4759 

141,723 

54 

Victoria  

i>877 

4,618 

134,976 

72 

Queensland 

843 

1,904 

58,296 

69 

South  Australia  . . . 

671 

1755 

39,128 

5^ 

Western  Australia 

167 

391 

10,915 

^^5 

Tasmania  ... 

296 

547 

12,015 

41 

New  Zealand 

1,624 

3,664 

110,256 

68 

Australasia 

8,080 

17,138 

1 507,309 

i 

63 

The  gross  cost  of  each  child  in  average  attendance  at 
the  public  schools  of  the  seven  Colonies  in  1898,  exclusive 
of  the  expenditure  on  buildings,  was  as  follows  : — 


New  South  Wales 

Victoria 

Queensland 
South  Australia  ... 
Western  Australia 

Tasmania 

New  Zealand 


Cost  per  child 
in  average  attendance. 
£ s.  d. 

...  4 8 2 


• 3 14  I 
. 4 10  o 

. 2 16  4 

. 4 o 10 


176 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


The  total  expenditure  upon  public  education  in  New 
South  Wales  in  1898,  was  £72g,g22,  and  of  this  amount 
the  contributions  of  parents  amounted  to  only  ^73,093. 
In  that  year  the  number  of  private  schools  in  the  Colony 
was  956,  and  scholars  58,179.  The  gross  enrolment  of 
distinct  pupils  at  the  State  schools  was  277,561. 

Victoria. 

When  a State  system  of  education  was  established  in 
this  Colony  it  was  made  free,  non-sectarian,  and  com- 
pulsory. No  teacher  was  permitted  to  impart  religious 
instruction,  but  after  school  hours  the  ministers  of 
various  denominations  were  allowed  the  privilege,  if 
they  chose  to  avail  themselves  of  it,  of  giving  religious 
instruction  to  the  children  of  various  denominations 
whose  parents  desired  to  have  them  so  instructed.  Out 
of  school  hours  it  was  found  that  children  did  not  feel 
inclined  to  present  themselves  for  religious  instruction, 
and  ministers  realised  that  this  concession  was  practically 
of  no  avail  to  them.  Attempts  have,  therefore,  been 
made  from  time  to  time  to  have  religious  instruction 
included  in  the  ordinary  school  curriculum,  and  failing 
this  the  Bible  in  schools  party  have  endeavoured  to  get 
such  amendments  of  the  Act  as  would  permit  of  portions 
of  the  Scriptures  being  read  daily.  Quite  an  agitation 
upon  the  subject  has  been  going  on  for  years  past,  and 
last  year  a Royal  Commission  was  appointed  to  inquire 
into  and  report  upon  the  subject.  That  Commission 
presented  its  report  last  year.  It  was  determined  by 
this  Commission  that  a series  of  lessons  should  be 
selected  from  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  after  long  and 
careful  consideration  it  was  unanimously  decided  to 
recommend  the  adoption  of  certain  lessons.  While 
some  members  of  the  Commission  would  have  pre- 
ferred to  eliminate  a number  of  the  lessons  adopted, 
the  Commission,  as  a whole,  was  glad  to  unite  in 


EDUCATION  IN  THE  AUSTRALIAN  COLONIES  177 


recommending  the  scheme  submitted.  The  members 
of  the  Commission  were  of  opinion — in  which  they  were 
confirmed  by  the  evidence  of  the  experts  examined — 
that  these  lessons  should  be  given  during  the  first  hour 
of  the  day,  that  they  should  not  exceed  half  an  hour, 
and  that  the  teachers  might  be  trusted  to  explain  the 
lesson  as  they  would  any  other  subject  without  obtruding 
personal  or  sectarian  views.  The  lessons  were  to  be 
from  the  Old  and  the  New  Testaments.  The  Old 
Testament  series  of  lessons  was  carefully  prepared  to 
meet  the  views  of  Jewish  fellow-colonists,  should  they 
see  fit  to  accept  the  system,  no  reference  to  New  Testa- 
ment passages  occurring  therein.  In  their  report  the 
Commission  said  : “We  have  carefully  striven  to  provide 
lessons  of  an  absolutely  unsectarian  character,  and  as 
simple  as  is  compatible  with  an  elementary  knowledge 
of  religious  truth.  No  attempt  has  been  made  to 
introduce  any  theological  system,  and  controversial 
doctrine  has  been  carefully  avoided.  It  is  confidently 
hoped,  therefore,  that  these  lessons  will  find  general 
acceptance.  The  general  plan  followed  has  the  double 
advantage,  that  if  the  lesson  be  merely  read  it  will 
accomplish  very  much  of  what  is  desired,  while  if,  as  we 
hope,  the  lesson  be  carefully  taught,  the  key  to  the 
moral  instruction  therein  will  be  readily  found  by  the 
teacher.  The  unanimous  testimony  of  the  witnesses  was 
in  favour  of  teaching  as  distinct  from  mere  reading,  that 
the  lessons  would  be  far  more  valuable  and  interesting  if 
treated  in  this  way,  and  that  the  teachers  could  be  trusted 
loyally  to  teach  the  lessons  as  they  would  any  other.” 
The  Commission  recommended  a conscience  clause  for 
such  teachers  as  conscientiously  objected  to  give  the 
lessons,  and  also  a clause  to  meet  the  case  of  parents 
who  objected  to  their  children  receiving  religious 
instruction.  “ The  Commission  recommends  that  these 
Scripture  lessons  should  form  part  of  the  ordinary  school 

T3 


178 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


curriculum.  Prayers  and  hymns  have  also  been  pre- 
pared by  the  Commission  which  may  be  used  before 
or  after  the  Scripture  lesson.  If  they  are  not  used, 
we  recommend  that  the  devotional  passages  usually 
appended  to  each  lesson  should  be  read  by  all  together, 
to  be  followed  by  the  Lord’s  Prayer.  We  believe  that 
the  hymn  would  be  a valuable  adjunct  to  our  scheme. 
We  have  made  a selection  of  a varied  and  general 
character,  which  may  be  used  in  connection  with  the 
lessons.  While  the  voluntary  religious  instruction  of 
the  children  has  proved  to  be  utterly  inadequate  to  the 
necessities  of  the  country,  we  view  with  great  approval 
the  efforts  being  made  to  provide  religious  instruction 
by  voluntary  agents,  whose  work,  we  hope,  will  be 
greatly  assisted  by  the  instruction  it  is  now  proposed  to 
give  through  the  trained  teachers  as  a part  of  the  school 
curriculum.  Having  completed  the  preparation  of  this 
manual  of  Scripture  instruction,  the  Commission  hope 
that  measures  will  be  taken  as  early  as  possible  to  remit 
this  question  to  a direct  vote  of  the  people,  and  in  order 
that  an  intelligent  vote  may  be  given,  and  also  to  avoid 
putting  the  country  to  unnecessary  expense,  we  very 
earnestly  recommend  that  three  specimen  lessons  in 
each  division,  with  a prayer  and  hymn  attached,  be  sent 
to  every  elector  in  Victoria.” 

That  was  the  report  presented  to  Parliament  last 
year,  but  no  action  was  taken  in  regard  to  it.  The 
fact  is,  that  politicians  in  Victoria  are  afraid  to  deal 
with  the  question,  owing  to  the  great  diversity  of 
opinion  which  prevails  there  as  to  whether  religious 
instruction  should  be  introduced  into  the  State  schools 
or  not.  Consequently,  the  system  still  remains  free, 
compulsory,  and  absolutely  non-sectarian. 

South  Australia. 

Prior  to  1847  there  was  no  State  education  in  South 


EDUCATION  IN  THE  AUSTRALIAN  COLONIES  179 

Australia.  Before  that  year  the  private  schools  were 
conducted  without  Government  interference  or  control. 
In  1847  ordinance  was  passed  under  whose  pro- 
visions a capitation  grant  was  paid  by  the  Government 
to  schools  established  by  private  persons  ; but  in  1851 
this  ordinance  was  repealed  and  an  Act  was  substituted 
for  the  purpose  of  establishing  public  schools  in  which 
good  secular  instruction,  based  on  Christian  principles, 
apart  from  sectarian  differences  of  belief  or  opinion, 
should  be  imparted.  The  Act  created  a Central  Board 
of  Education,  which  was  empowered  to  grant  licenses 
to  teachers  and  to  pay  them  salaries  varying  from  £40 
to  ^100  per  annum.  Inspectors  were  appointed  who 
periodically  visited  the  schools  and  reported  the  results 
of  their  inspection  to  the  Central  Board.  The  school 
buildings  were  erected  by  means  of  local  subscriptions, 
which  were  subsidised  by  the  Government  according 
to  the  circumstances  of  each  case  by  amounts  not 
exceeding  £200.  In  1875  a new  Education  Act  was 
passed,  transferring  the  management  of  the  public 
schools  from  the  Education  Board  to  a Council  of 
Education,  under  the  presidency  of  an  officer  paid  by 
the  State.  Three  years  later  another  Act  was  passed, 
which  placed  the  control  of  the  schools  directly  under 
the  Minister  of  Education.  This  last  Act  introduced 
the  system  of  compulsory  and  free  education. 

At  the  same  time  provision  was  made  by  which  the 
Bible  might  be  read  by  a teacher  to  any  pupils  who 
attend  for  that  purpose,  for  not  more  than  half  an  hour 
before  9.30  a.m.,  but  no  religious  instruction  was  per- 
mitted, nor  was  attendance  at  this  time  compulsory. 
The  Minister  of  Education  has  power  to  require  such 
Bible-reading  in  any  school,  on  receiving  a written 
request  to  that  effect  from  the  parents  of  not  less  than 
ten  children. 

When  the  census  was  taken  in  1891,  it  was  found  that 


i8o 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


the  total  population  of  the  Colony  was  320,431.  Of 
these  246,085  persons  were  able  to  read,  236,514  were 
also  able  to  write,  and  74,346  were  not  able  to  read. 
Those  who  could  read  and  write  formed  73*81  per  cent, 
of  the  population  ; those  who  could  read  only,  2-99  per 
cent. ; and  those  who  could  neither  read  nor  write,  23*20 
per  cent.  In  arriving  at  these  figures  the  children  under 
five  years  of  age  have  been  considered  as  being  unable 
to  read  or  write;  they  numbered  45,281,  and  formed 
14*13  per  cent,  of  the  population.  Of  the  persons  of 
five  years  of  age  and  upwards  (275,150),  236,514,  or 
85*96  per  cent.,  could  read  and  write  ; 9,571,  or  3*48 
per  cent.,  could  read  only,  and  29,065,  or  10.56  per 
cent.,  could  not  read.  If  the  number  of  children  under 
five  years  of  age  were  deducted  from  the  total  popula- 
tion, the  proportion  of  persons  who  could  read  and 
write  in  1891  was  85*96. 

In  South  Australia  parents  are  not  bound  to  send 
their  children  to  the  State  schools,  but  the  State  insists 
that  they  must  attend  some  school.  The  Roman 
Catholics  decline  to  avail  themselves  of  the  public 
schools,  because  they  hold  that  religious  instruction  is 
a fundamental  and  indispensable  part  of  the  education 
of  the  young,  and,  as  a matter  of  conscience,  they  can 
have  nothing  to  do  with  any  schools  in  which  their 
children  cannot  be  instructed  in  their  own  faith.  The 
State,  however,  recognises  no  religious  or  sectarian 
teaching  in  schools,  and  subsidises  no  religious  body 
either  for  school  purposes  or  otherwise.  State  educa- 
tion is  free  and  unsectarian,  and  the  public  schools  are 
open  to  all  children  without  distinction.  The  Roman 
Catholics  make  no  objection  to  the  inspection  of  their 
schools  by  the  State,  in  order  that  the  authorities  may 
be  satisfied  that  the  elementary  instruction  imparted  | 
in  them  is  equal  to  that  which  has  been  fixed  by  the 
regulations.  They  consider  that  they  are  entitled  to 


EDUCATION  IN  THE  AUSTRALIAN  COLONIES  i8i 


participate  in  the  public  expenditure  on  education  in 
proportion  to  the  number  of  children  in  their  schools 
who  come  up  to  the  Government  standard,  but  no  con- 
cession of  this  kind  has  been  granted  to  them.  The 
Anglican  Church  has  also  established  a large  number 
of  schools  of  its  own  connected  with  its  parishes  in  the 
country  districts.  They  have  also  a collegiate  school, 
and  they  have  a school  in  Adelaide  where  higher-class 
education  is  provided.  The  Wesleyan  body  owns 
Prince  Alfred  College  and  the  Bible  Christians  Way 
College,  and  the  Christian  Brothers  and  Dominican 
Nuns  and  Sisters  of  Mercy  have  educational  establish- 
ments of  their  own. 

The  system  of  public  education  at  the  present  time 
in  force  in  South  Australia  is  free,  secular,  and  com- 
pulsory. No  religious  teaching  whatever ; but  the 
teacher  may,  if  he  likes,  and  must  if  requested  by  ten 
parents  of  pupils,  read  out  a portion  of  the  Scriptures 
for  half  an  hour  before  school  begins. 

Expenditure  upon  public  education  in  South  Aus- 
tralia (including  Public  Library,  Museum,  and  Art 
Gallery),  from  1889-90  to  1898-9 — out  of  loans, 
;^i  16,559  5s.  lod. ; out  of  revenue,  ;^i,4i8,370  15s.  4d. ; 
total,  ^1,534)930  is.  2d. 

Western  Australia. 

Under  the  provisions  of  the  Public  Education  Act, 
1899,  payment  of  fees  was  abolished  in  Government 
schools,  but  provision  was  left  whereby  the  Minister 
may  determine  the  fees  to  be  paid  by  those  of  fourteen 
years  of  age  and  over.  The  law  relating  to  compulsory 
attendance  was  made  more  drastic,  as  every-day  atten- 
dance till  fourteen  is  now  required,  subject  to  certain 
discretionary  powers  in  the  hands  of  the  minister. 
Teachers  of  private  schools  may  apply  to  have  their 
schools  found  efficient  by  a Government  inspector,  and, 


i82  AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 

if  found  efficient,  what  is  called  monetary  compensation 
is  given  to  them,  the  total  amount  for  that  purpose 
being  15,000. 

The  teaching  in  the  Government  schools  is  purely 
non-sectarian,  but  half  an  hour  is  devoted  to  general 
religious  teaching ; the  text  books  on  this  subject  are 
the  Irish  National  series.  Ministers  of  religion  are 
permitted,  under  certain  regulations,  to  teach  the 
children  of  their  own  denominations  for  half  an  hour 
during  school  hours. 

The  number  of  Government  schools  in  operation  at 
the  end  of  1898  was  167,  and  the  number  of  children 
upon  the  rolls  was  14,424,  with  an  average  attendance 
of  10,915. 

In  Western  i\ustralia,  as  in  all  other  colonies,  the 
Roman  Catholics,  and  some  congregations  of  Anglicans, 
Presbyterians,  and  other  denominations,  have  each  a 
number  of  schools  of  their  own,  and  each  of  these 
obtains  a certain  proportion  of  the  ;^i  5,000  grant  as 
compensation  when  their  schools  come  up  to  the 
required  standard. 


Queensland. 

In  this  Colony  the  State  Schools  are  free,  secular,  and 
compulsory,  and  no  religious  teaching  is  given  in  them. 
In  1899  there  were  188  primary  schools  in  Queensland, 
and  the  total  cost  of  primary  education  that  year  was 
^248,899,  and  higher  education  ^^25,225  additional. 

Tasmania. 

The  system  in  this  Colony  is  also  non-sectarian,  but 
not  altogether  free,  as  the  teachers  are  empowered  to 
levy  small  fees  to  supplement  the  salaries  they  receive 
from  the  Government.  A proposal  is  now  under  con- 
sideration to  make  the  system  free  and  compulsory. 


EDUCATION  IN  THE  AUSTRALIAN  COLONIES  183 

Ministers  are  allowed  to  give  religious  instruction  under 
certain  regulations.  During  1899  ;^46,720  was  appro- 
priated for  educational  purposes,  and  the  amount  on 
this  year’s  estimates  is  .^52,755. 


CHAPTER  XVII 


THE  PRESS  OF  AUSTRALASIA 

WHAT  time  could  be  more  opportune  than  that 
which  marks  the  close  of  a century  we  have  lived 
in,  and  the  advent  of  the  new,  to  give  some  account  of 
the  Press  in  our  distant  possessions  in  the  South  Pacific, 
and  its  progress  from  small  beginnings  to  great  achieve- 
ments in  the  comparatively  few  years  that  have  elapsed 
since  colonisation  in  that  remote  part  of  the  world  was 
begun  and  carried  out  upon  systematic  principles  ? For 
it  must  be  remembered  that  during  the  first  few  decades 
in  the  life  of  Australasia,  those  far-off  lands  only  served 
the  purpose  of  mere  receptacles  for  Great  Britain's  worst 
class  of  offenders  against  the  laws.  Although  it  was  a 
fallacy  to  suppose  that  these  expatriated  criminals  were 
taken  to  Botany  Bay — as  a fact  none  ever  settled  there — 
still  they  were  conveyed  by  the  thousand  to  Port  Jack- 
son,  Tasmania,  and  later  on  to  Western  Australia;  and 
under  the  ticket-of-leave  system  these  transported  men 
and  women,  and  those  who  went  there  to  guard  them, 
really  became  the  pioneers  of  settlement  on  the 
Australian  Continent  and  the  adjacent  island  of 
Tasmania,  which  the  late  Mr.  Marcus  Clarke  has  made 
famous  by  the  thrilling  story  of  “ His  Natural  Life." 
liven  in  those  primitive  times,  and  under  conditions 
which,  to  say  the  least  of  them,  were  exceedingly 

184 


THE  PRESS  OF  AUSTRALASIA  185 

outlandish,  the  printing  press  was  introduced  into  the 
convict  settlements  of  Tasmania  and  New  South 
Wales,  and  the  student  of  colonial  history  will  find 
much  to  interest  him  and  to  repay  research  in  the 
newspaper  literature  of  that  remote  period.  How 
small  those  sheets  were,  and  how  crude  they  seem, 
compared  with  the  newspapers  of  the  present  day  ! But 
they  served  their  purpose,  and  can  now  be  profitably 
referred  to  as  chroniclers  of  events  which  would  other- 
wise have  been  hopelessly  concealed  from  the  ordinary 
historian.  The  exigencies  of  space  unfortunately  prevent 
any  detailed  reference  to  the  newspaper  Press  of  convict 
days,  and  one  is  reluctantly  compelled,  within  the 
confines  of  this  chapter,  to  avail  himself  of  the  space 
at  his  command  for  the  purpose  of  showing  what 
that  Press  has  grown  to  within  the  period  which  dates 
from  the  inauguration  of  Constitutional  Government  in 
the  various  Colonies  of  the  Australasian  group. 

In  dealing  with  the  Australasian  Press  as  we  find  it 
to-day,  it  would  be  idle  to  suppose  that  it  would  have 
attained  its  present  somewhat  astounding  dimensions,  or 
indeed  that  the  Colonies  themselves  would  be  occupying 
the  important  position  they  now  do,  had  it  not  been  for 
the  gold  discoveries  in  New  South  Wales  a few  months 
after  the  rush  to  California,  later  on  in  Victoria,  and 
subsequently  in  New  Zealand.  Under  other  circum- 
stances, the  settlement  of  the  Australian  Colonies  would 
have  been  a slow  process,  owing  mainly  to  their  remote- 
ness from  Great  Britain  ; but  with  the  marvellous 
discoveries  of  the  precious  metal,  especially  in  Victoria, 
an  enormous  flow  of  population  set  in  from  all  corners 
of  the  globe  ; a new  phase  was  imparted  to  Australasian 
colonisation,  and  the  newspaper  Press,  like  most  other 
things,  grew  apace  with  this  unlooked-for  and  extra- 
ordinary development.  Newspapers  came  into  life 
here,  there,  and  everywhere,  and,  what  is  more,  a great 


i86 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


many  of  them  survive  till  this  day  and  are  paying 
handsomely.  The  greatest  advantages  were  gained,  of 
course,  by  the  organs  of  journalism  in  such  cities  as 
Sydney  and  Melbourne,  and  their  immediate  expansion 
was  one  of  the  earliest  outcomes  of  the  phenomenal  rush 
of  people  which  set  in  to  the  shores  of  Victoria  and  New 
South  Wales  in  the  early  fifties.  After  the  lapse  of 
scarcely  half  a century,  let  us  speak  of  the  Press  as  we 
find  it  to-day  in  Melbourne  and  Sydney,  taking  them  in 
their  respective  orders,  with  apologies  to  the  much  older 
city  of  the  two  for  giving  precedence  to  its  more  go- 
ahead  and  enterprising  rival,  the  Victorian  capital. 

This  is  as  it  should  be,  because  the  Press  of  Melbourne 
has  shown  far  greater  enterprise  than  that  of  the  fore- 
most city  in  the  adjacent  Mother  Colony,  and  because 
the  man  who  is  unquestionably  the  central  figure  of 
Australasian  journalism  is  proprietor  of  the  newspaper 
which  to-day  stands  far  away  at  the  head  of  any  other 
journal  in  the  whole  of  the  Colonies  in  social  and  political 
importance  and  circulation.  It  is  needless  to  say  that 
reference  is  here  made  to  Mr.  David  Syme,  whose  able 
management  and  powers  of  organisation  have  placed  the 
Age  in  the  enviable  position  it  now  holds  amongst  its 
competitors.  Mr.  Syme  has  achieved  his  triumph  by 
sheer  hard  work  and  a determination  to  excel  in  the 
path  of  journalistic  enterprise.  When  he  took  the  paper 
over,  in  partnership  with  his  brother,  the  late  Mr. 
Ebenezer  Syme,  he  had  anything  but  an  abundant 
exchequer  to  work  from.  For  years  it  was  a hard, 
uphill  fight  against  the  Argus,  a firmly-established  and 
very  superior  paper  to  the  Age  in  those  days  ; but  Mr. 
Syme  kept  pegging  away  against  his  conservative  rival, 
run  mainly  in  the  interests  of  the  wool  kings,  and  bit  by 
bit  the  Age  made  headway,  and  eventually  surpassed  the 
circulation  of  the  Argus.  The  uncompromising  advocacy 
of  democratic  principles,  coupled  with  Mr.  Syme’s 


THE  PRESS  OF  AUSTRALASIA 


187 


conspicuously  able  management  alike  in  the  literary 
and  commercial  departments  of  his  establishment, 
ensured  a success  that  has  been  truly  phenomenal  in  its 
completeness.  With  a circulation  of  over  one  hundred 
thousand  copies  per  day,  with  its  ten  broad  pages  every 
morning,  and  twelve  or  sixteen  on  Saturdays,  each  day’s 
issue  half  filled  with  close-set  advertisements,  it  may 
easily  be  imagined  what  a powerful  influence  the  Age 
exercises  upon  the  public  mind  of  Australia,  which  we 
know  for  the  most  part  is  strongly  democratic  in  senti- 
ment and  aspirations.  Indeed,  it  is  no  exaggeration  to 
say  that  the  Age  can,  at  its  own  sweet  will,  make  and 
unmake  Governments  in  the  Colony  of  Victoria,  and  its 
influence  permeates  also  throughout  Australia  and  the 
adjacent  Colonies  of  Tasmania  and  New  Zealand.  The 
revenue  which  Mr.  Syme  derives  from  the  Age  is 
enormous,  and  he  must  rank  amongst  the  richest  men 
in  that  part  of  the  world.  Some  idea  of  the  value  of  the 
paper,  as  a going  concern,  may  be  gathered  from  the 
fact  that  when  he  bought  out  his  nephew’s  share  some 
years  ago — and  the  nephew’s  interest  was  only  a quarter 
one — Mr.  David  Syme  paid  ^^247,000  to  get  the  paper 
into  his  own  hands.  The  annual  profits  run  into  big 
figures ; and  it  is  one  of  the  Melbourne  sights  any  even- 
ing of  the  week,  from  six  to  nine  or  ten  o’clock,  to 
behold  the  continuous  stream  of  advertisers  which  sets 
in  to  the  advertising  department  of  this  great  newspaper. 
Mr.  Syme  has  from  time  to  time  been  most  judicious  in 
the  selection  of  his  literary  helpers.  The  editorial  chair 
has  been  very  ably  filled  by  Mr.  Windsor  for  a long 
series  of  years.  The  commercial  editorship  has  also 
long  been  held  by  Mr.  Robinson,  who  visited  London 
a year  or  two  ago,  and  Messrs.  Stevens  and  Schuler 
are  old  servants  of  the  firm,  who  have  done  good 
service  in  their  respective  capacities.  The  Age  has  a 
reportorial  staff  of  about  twenty,  all  good  picked  men,  and 


i88  AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 

its  corps  of  leader-writers  and  special  correspondents  is 
a very  strong  one.  In  fact,  Mr.  Syme  all  through  his 
very  successful  career  has  borne  strictly  in  mind  the 
adage  that  what  is  worth  doing  is  worth  doing  well,” 
and  he  will  spare  no  expense  in  securing  the  best  talent 
available  and  all  sorts  of  information  which  will  interest 
those  he  caters  for.  This  is  the  real  secret  of  his  success  ; 
and  although  sometimes  exacting  with  the  various 
members  of  his  staff,  generally  speaking  he  is  what 
may  be  termed  a good  employer.  Mr.  Syme  is  not  a 
man  who  will  turn  adrift  any  one  who  has  served  his 
paper  well,  but  whose  infirmity  renders  him  no  longer 
capable  of  further  active  employment  on  his  staff.  He 
at  once  grants  him  a competent  pension,  and  the  author 
is  acquainted  with  several  of  these  gentlemen  who  are 
on  the  regular  pension  list  of  the  Age.  Indeed,  Mr. 
Syme  has  even  gone  farther,  and  awarded  either 
pensions  or  compensation  to  long-service  compositors 
who  have  lost  their  frames  through  the  introduction  of 
the  linotype. 

Although  priority  of  position  and  influence  must  be 
accorded  to  the  Age^  its  contemporary  the  Argus  is 
undoubtedly  a great  credit  to  colonial  journalism.  In 
its  palmiest  days,  even  the  Sydney  Morning  Herald 
would  not  stand  comparison  with  the  Argus  from  a 
literary  standpoint,  or  from  the  variety  of  its  news 
columns  and  spirit  of  enterprise.  Those  were  the  days 
when  democracy  and  radicalism  had  no  appreciable 
hold  upon  the  public  mind,  and  when  squatterdom  was 
in  the  zenith  of  its  power  in  Victoria  and  most  other 
parts  of  the  great  Australian  Continent.  The  Wilsons 
and  Mackinnons  certainly  made  it  a great  paper,  even 
judged  from  the  standpoint  of  English  metropolitan 
journalism  ; and  although  the  topsy-turveydom  of 
altered  political  thought  has  since  placed  the  Argus 
in  a minority  and  deprived  it  of  its  former  prestige,  it 


THE  PRESS  OF  AUSTRALASIA  189 

IS  still  a journal  that  any  colonial  can  refer  to  with 
pardonable  pride  as  showing  what  the  Australians  are 
capable  of  turning  out  in  the  journalistic  line.  It  is  true 
that  its  circulation  has  receded  because  of  its  conserva- 
tism, and  does  not  approach  within  many  thousands 
the  circulation  of  its  contemporary,  but  nevertheless  it 
retains  a numerous  circle  of  supporters,  although  Con- 
servatism, as  we  know  it  in  England,  is  a rapidly- 
vanishing  political  creed  at  the  Antipodes.  But  the 
Argus  is  so  wound  up  with  the  earliest  associations 
of  colonisation  in  Victoria,  and  maintains  such  a high 
standard  of  literary  excellence,  that  numbers  of  people 
take  it  in  and  advertise  freely  in  its  columns,  notwith- 
standing that  they  are  themselves  in  direct  opposition 
with  its  politics.  Hence  it  is  that  any  expert  glancing 
at  its  columns  will  see  that  it  should  be  a paying 
property.  Of  course  its  expenditure  is  very  great,  as 
it  endeavours  to  be  at  least  on  terms  of  equality  with  its 
rival  in  the  literary  material  it  supplies  its  readers  with 
from  day  to  day,  and  no  niggardliness  is  ever  displayed 
either  in  the  amount  of  remuneration  paid  to  the 
members  of  its  staff  or  expended  in  quarters  far 
removed  from  Melbourne  itself  in  order  to  obtain 
good  reading  matter  for  those  who  support  it.  The 
proprietary  made  a good  selection  in  London  many 
years  ago  when  they  entrusted  Mr.  Haddon  with  the 
editorship,  and  his  regime  was  a particularly  brilliant 
one.  Advanced  age  has  since  removed  him  from  the 
chair  and  made  him  the  recipient  of  a handsome  pension 
from  well-served  and  grateful  employers.  He  has  been 
succeeded  by  Mr.  Willoughby,  a gentleman  of  very  ver- 
satile talents,  who  has  risen  to  his  present  position  step  by 
step  from  the  reporting  staff,  and  has  shown  since  his 
promotion  that  Mr.  Haddon’s  mantle  has  fallen  upon  com- 
petent shoulders.  Like  the  Age^  the  Argus  maintains  a 
very  numerous  staff  in  all  its  departments,  and  notwith- 


190  AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 

standing  its  great  outlay,  its  income,  judging  from  the 
general  appearance  of  the  paper,  ought  to  leave  a con- 
siderable margin  of  profit. 

The  two  greatest  Melbourne  weeklies  are  the  Austra- 
lasian (edited  by  Mr.  D.  Watterston)  and  the  Leader 
(of  which  Mr.  Short  is  editor).  They  are  issued 
respectively  from  the  Argus  and  the  Age  offices. 
Both  have  an  extensive  intercolonial  circulation.  The 
former  is  a great  authority  on  sporting  matters,  and  is 
in  all  respects  a first-class  weekly.  So  also  is  the 
Leader,  which  obtains  most  of  its  support  from  the 
agriculturalist  portion  of  the  community.  The  illustra- 
tions in  both  papers  are,  as  a rule,  very  superior. 

The  popular  evening  paper  in  Melbourne  is  the 
Herald,  It  enjoys  an  extensive  circulation,  is  full  of 
advertisements,  and  has  made  Mr.  Winter  a very 
wealthy  man  indeed.  One  highly  commendable  feature 
about  the  Herald  is,  that  it  likes  fair  play,  and  invariably 
opens  its  columns  to  the  representation  and  discussion 
of  both  sides  of  a question ; but  sometimes  in  its  news 
columns  it  displays  a tendency  towards  yellow 
journalism  which  is  scarcely  in  keeping  with  Anglo- 
Saxon  traditions  of  newspaper  products ; and  with 
the  Herald,  as  indeed  with  several  other  news- 
papers in  Australasia,  it  must  be  regretfully  confessed 
that  there  is  needlessly  a too  obvious  desire  to  imitate 
the  lower-class  organs  of  the  United  States  by  making 
everything  else  subservient  to  sensationalism  and  pan- 
dering to  tastes  which  by  no  means  represent  those  who 
form  the  majority  of  the  community.  This  degenerate 
departure  is  all  the  more  to  be  deplored  when  it  is 
remembered  that  the  general  public  out  there  are  not 
what  could  be  termed  a reading  or  studious  public,  and 
that  newspaper  literature  is  the  only  kind  which  a great 
mass  of  the  population  provides  itself  with.  Indeed,  the 
reading  of  good  standard  works  is  indulged  in  by  a 


THE  PRESS  OF  AUSTRALASIA 


191 

comparative  minority.  The  reading  of  magazine  litera- 
ture, it  is  true,  is  making  headway  in  the  Colonies,  but 
with  the  majority  of  the  lower  and  a large  sprinkling  of 
even  the  middle  classes,  the  daily  broadsheet  constitutes 
everything  that  is  looked  for  in  the  shape  of  literary 
pabulum.  Hence  it  is  that  this  incipient  introduction 
of  yellow  journalism  is  all  the  more  to  be  deplored  and 
resisted  by  those  who  wish  to  see  Australasians  gener- 
ally become  a well-read,  well-informed,  and  cultured 
people. 

Sydney  is  well  provided  with  newspapers.  Its  big- 
gest is  the  Morning  Herald,  which  may  be  pronounced 
the  leader  of  Conservative  journalism  in  Australasia. 
Brought  to  its  present  high  standard  of  tone  and  relia- 
bility by  the  Fairfax  Brothers,  the  Herald  is  perhaps 
the  best-paying  organ  in  the  South  Seas.  Because  of 
its  unvarying  adhesion  to  old  lines  and  principles,  it  is 
considered  rather  “ grandmotherly  ” by  those  who  would 
like  to  see  it  launch  forth  into  greater  and  more  up-to- 
date  activity ; but  it  adheres  tenaciously  to  its  original 
course,  and  in  appearance  and  policy  there  is  no  essential 
difference  in  the  Herald  of  to-day  and  the  Herald  of  a 
quarter  of  a century  ago.  Its  contemporary  on  the 
opposite  side  of  politics  is  the  Daily  Telegraphy  which 
is  run  upon  similar  lines  to  the  Melbourne  Age^  and  has 
made  great  headway  since  the  Democratic  and  Labour 
parties  have  become  such  a powerful  political  factor  in 
New  South  Wales  as  to  subvert,  as  they  have  done  in 
the  adjoining  Colony  of  Victoria,  the  influence  of  the 
opposite  party,  which  so  long  controlled  the  public 
affairs  of  the  Mother  Colony.  Here,  too,  in  Sydney 
they  have  a newspaper  which  is  more  far-reaching  in 
its  circulation  throughout  the  whole  of  the  Colonies  than 
any  other  journal  published  on  that  side  of  the  globe. 
I refer  to  the  Bulletin y which  has  made  its  proprietor, 
Mr.  Archibald,  a very  wealthy  man.  It  is  smartly 


192 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


written  and  strongly  Republican  in  its  tendencies,  and 
it  may  be  said  to  have  caught  on  better  than  any 
other  weekly  publication  in  those  parts.  Go  where  one 
may  in  any  of  the  Colonies,  whether  it  be  in  the  cities, 
towns,  hamlets,  or  the  backest  blocks  on  the  fringes  of 
civilisation,  one  is  certain  to  encounter  the  Bulletin 
everywhere.  True  enough,  it  got  somewhat  of  a set- 
back for  its  strenuous  opposition  to  the  South  African 
War,  but  it  is  fast  making  up  for  lost  ground,  and  its 
subscribers’  list  and  advertising  clientele  assure  Mr. 
Archibald  that  the  unpopularity  of  his  paper  was 
merely  a temporary  ordeal  through  which  it  had  to 
pass  as  a punishment  for  being  in  a minority  on  the 
occasion  of  what  seemed  to  the  majority  to  be  a 
national  crisis. 

In  Sydney  two  good  weeklies  are  issued — Town  and 
Country  and  the  Sydney  Mail^  which  are  very  suitable 
for  a general  class  of  readers,  especially  those  in  country 
districts,  for  whom  the  week’s  news  is  judiciously  con- 
densed. John  Norton  has  also  his  weekly  paper,  called 
Truths  which  is  Radical  and  Republican,  and  enjoys  a 
good  circulation  because  of  the  fearless  attitude  it  takes 
up  on  all  public  questions  of  the  day.  As  a consequence, 
threats  of  libel  actions  are  not  infrequent,  and  sometimes 
they  are  brought,  but  John  Norton  seems  to  flourish, 
notwithstanding  the  litigation  in  which  he  gets  involved 
from  time  to  time. 

In  Queensland  the  Brisbane  Courier  \\o\As  the  sway; 
in  South  Australia  the  Register  just  keeps  ahead  of  the 
Advertiser,  which  is  associated  with  the  Melbourne 
Age  and  Sydney  Daily  Telegraph  so  far  as  the  cable 
services  are  concerned.  These  three  papers  being 
conducted  upon  the  same  democratic  principles,  they 
find  it  to  their  interest  to  pool  the  expense,  just  as 
the  Argus,  Sydney  Morning  Herald,  and  other  Con- 
servative newspapers  combine  in  the  same  way  for 


THE  PRESS  OF  AUSTRALASIA  193 

their  mutual  advantage.  Western  Australia,  the  last 
of  the  group  to  have  Constitutional  Government  con- 
ferred upon  it,  already  boasts  of  a very  creditable 
newspaper  Press  at  Perth,  Freemantle,  the  goldfields, 
and  in  many  scattered  communities  in  that  arid 
region. 

The  periodical  and  magazine  literature  of  Australasia 
is  yet  in  its  infancy,  and  a great  improvement  must 
ensue  before  much  in  the  way  of  commendation  can  be 
bestowed  upon  it.  Of  the  reviews,  the  Review  of 
Reviews^  edited  by  Dr.  Fitchett,  is  a most  creditable 
production,  and  circulates  extensively  throughout  the 
Colonies.  It  is  the  best  monthly  compendium  at  the 
Antipodes  from  a literary  standpoint,  and  gives  a clear 
nsight  into  all  the  important  happenings  in  various 
parts  of  the  world.  The  several  religious  denominations 
have  each  their  representative  organs,  and  these  are  well 
supported,  as  a rule,-  and  interesting  to  their  readers. 
Sydney  and  Melbourne  are  also  well  represented  by 
weeklies  on  the  lines  of  London  Punch, 

Alike  in  area  and  population,  Tasmania  is  too  small 
to  have  many  newspapers.  The  principal  of  them  are 
to  be  found  at  Hobart  in  the  south,  and  at  Launceston 
in  the  northern  part  of  that  beautiful  island.  The  oldest 
is  the  Hobart  Mercury^  which  was  founded  by  Mr.  John 
Davis  in  the  early  part  of  the  last  century,  and  is  still 
owned  by  his  descendants.  The  Launceston  Examiner^ 
at  the  other  end  of  Tasmania,  is  in  all  respects  equal 
to  its  southern  contemporary. 

It  will  be  interesting  to  readers  of  this  chapter  to  know 
that  the  first  newspaper  published  in  Australia  was  the 
Sydney  Gazette  and  New  South  Wales  Advertiser,, 
printed  by  George  Howe.  It  began  publication  on 
March  5,  1803,  and  continued  until  December  23,  1843. 
The  Derwent  Star^  the  first  newspaper  in  Van  Diemen’s 
Land,  started  on  January  8, 1810.  The  Morning 

14 


194 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


Herald  began  as  a weekly  on  April  i8,  1831,  was  con- 
verted into  a bi-weekly  in  May,  1832,  into  a tri-weekly 
in  July,  1838,  and  in  1840  it  became  a daily  newspaper, 
and  has  continued  its  career  as  such  ever  since.  The 
Melbourne  Argus  was  first  issued  on  June  2,  1846; 
the  was  established  on  October  17,  1854,  and  two 
years  later  the  Leader  was  founded. 

For  its  size  and  population  there  is  no  country  in  the 
world  which  has  been  so  fruitful  of  newspapers  as  New 
Zealand.  They  abound  everywhere,  and  the  principal 
dailies  amongst  them  are  the  Wellington  Evening  Post 
(edited  with  conspicuous  ability  by  Mr.  Gresley  Lukin), 
the  Christchurch  Press  (where  Mr.  W.  H.  Triggs,  once 
an  English  journalist,  so  ably  fills  the  editorial  chair 
vacated  by  the  late  Mr.  John  Steele  Guthrie),  the  New 
Zealand  Herald,  published  at  Auckland,  and  the  Otago 
Daily  Times,  which  in  the  gold-digging  times  of  that 
portion  of  New  Zealand  was  conducted  by  the  late  Sir 
Julius  Vogel,  in  partnership  with  Mr.  B.  L.  Farjeon,  the 
well-known  novelist.  Some  idea  of  what  can  be  made 
out  of  journalistic  enterprise  in  New  Zealand  may  be 
gathered  from  a brief  recital  of  some  particulars  con- 
cerning the  foundation  and  progress  of  the  Wellington 
Evening  Post,  Started  upon  very  modest  dimensions 
by  the  late  Mr.  John  Blundell  in  the  early  sixties,  for  a 
time  it  had  a very  precarious  existence  ; but  Mr.  Blundell 
and  his  three  sons  were  never  disheartened.  They  kept 
plodding  away  so  successfully  that  when  Mr.  Blundell 
died  he  left  the  Post  as  a legacy  to  his  sons,  and  the 
success  of  that  paper  has  been  so  great  that  the  Blundell 
family  now  share  a net  income  of  something  like  ^9,000 
or  ^10,000  a year.  It  is  little  wonder,  therefore,  that  a 
year  or  two  ago  they  refused  an  offer  of  ^40,000  for  the 
Evening  Post  as  a going  concern.  The  best  of  the 
weekly  publications  in  the  Colony  are  the  Christchurch 
Weekly  Press,  the  Auckland  Weekly  Herald,  and  the 


THE  PRESS  OF  AUSTRALASIA  195 

Otago  Witness.  The  first-named  particularly  challenges 
for  premier  place  such  publications  as  the  Australasian 
and  Melbourne  Leader^  and  its  illustrations  are  equal  to 
anything  in  the  same  line  produced  in  England. 

Proximity  to  the  large  centres  and  rapid  communi- 
cation in  no  way  discourage  the  establishment  of 
newspapers  in  country  districts,  and  they  are  therefore 
extraordinarily  numerous,  and  more  or  less  successful 
speculations.  Conspicuous  amongst  these  are  Mr. 
Pirani’s  paper  at  Palmerston  North  (the  Manawatu 
Evening  Standard')^  the  one  edited  by  Mr.  Richardson 
Rae  at  Carterton  (the  Observer^  another  published  at 
Waimate  (the  Times),  and  Mr.  Taylor's  Manukau 
Chronicle,  which  is  brought  out  within  seven  miles  of 
the  city  of  Auckland,  and  bears  a very  healthy 
appearance. 

What  encourages  the  multiplicity  of  newspapers  in 
Australia  and  New  Zealand  is  the  habit  of  advertising, 
which  has  become  so  general.  The  colonial  public  rush 
to  the  advertising  columns  of  their  local  prints  more 
freely  than  they  do  in  Great  Britain.  They  have  a 
keener  appreciation  of  the  value  of  advertising,  and 
hence  it  is  that  so  few  newspapers  in  the  Colonies  ever 
succumb  for  lack  of  support  This  will  strike  the  atten- 
tion of  any  Britisher  setting  his  foot  there.  At  the 
same  time,  except  in  regard  to  the  great  metropolitan 
dailies  of  Australia,  he  will  find  that  colonial  newspapers, 
as  a rule,  are  of  a too  local  character,  and  that  they 
devote  far  too  much  of  their  space  to  sport,  particularly 
football.  He  will  find,  too,  that  even  in  cities  with 
populations  ranging  from  40,000  to  50,000,  the  news- 
papers do  not  lead  public  opinion,  but,  like  opportunist 
politicians — and  men  of  this  class  abound  at  the  Anti- 
podes— they  are  too  prone  to  wait  and  see  “how  the 
cat  jumps."  There  are  a few  exceptions,  of  course, 
and  the  two  most  notable  of  these  are  the  Wellington 


196 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


Evening  Post  and  the  Christchurch  Press^  both  of  which 
never  hesitate  to  express  their  opinions  fearlessly  upon 
all  the  public  questions  of  the  day.  With  some  New 
Zealand  newspapers,  however,  a change  of  policy  and 
principles  is  quite  an  easy  matter.  You  may  be  taking 
in  a newspaper,  for  instance,  which  has  been  going  all 
its  might  against  the  Government  for  months  past.  All 
at  once  you  discover  a marked  change  of  tone,  and  you 
look  to  see  if  you  have  not  got  hold  of  the  wrong  paper. 
No  ; indeed  you  have  not.  You  are  surprised  to  find 
that  the  sheet  you  had  so  much  faith  in  has  gone  quite 
upon  the  opposite  tack.  The  explanation  is  not  far  to 
seek.  Previously  the  paper  contained  no  Government 
advertisements  ; now  it  is  full  of  them,  headed  with  the 
Royal  Arms,  and  the  effect  of  these  advertisements 
upon  the  editorial  columns  and  general  tone  of  the 
paper  has  been  electrical.  It  has  thrown  a journalistic 
somersault.  What  it  condemned  most  scathingly  but  a 
few  days  before,  it  now  fulsomely  praises  and  supports 
with  that  excess  of  zeal  characteristic  of  apostasy. 
That  is  how  they  do  things  in  New  Zealand. 

In  small  colonial  communities  newspapers  are  careful, 
in  most  instances,  not  to  express  opinions  or  publish 
reports  that  might  have  the  effect  of  alienating  the 
support  of  an  esteemed  circle  of  advertisers.  It  is 
population  alone  which  will  place  these  newspapers  in  a 
position  of  independence,  and  enable  them  to  lead,  and 
not  merely  to  follow,  public  opinion. 

With  the  establishment  of  the  Australian  Common- 
wealth a great  future  lies  before  the  Press  of  that 
continent,  and  also  of  New  Zealand,  when  that  colony 
sees  fit  to  abandon  its  present  retrograde  policy  of  isola- 
tion. With  newspapers,  as  with  statesmen,  loftier  ideals 
will  present  themselves  ; and  thus  conducted  upon  higher 
lines  the  Press  generally  will  become  an  ornament  to  the 
new  nation  whose  birth  has  been  so  recently  celebrated. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 


THE  LITERATURE  OF  AUSTRALASIA— POETRY  AND 
PROSE 

HAN  Dr.  J.  Laurence  Rentoul,  M.A.,  D.D.,  of 


X Ormond  College,  Melbourne  University,  there 
is  no  man  in  Australia  more  competent — indeed,  so 
competent — to  deal  with  the  subject  of  Australasian 
literature.  Besides  being  one  of  the  Professors  at 
Ormond  College,  Dr.  Rentoul  is  a lecturer  on  litera- 
ture, history,  &c.,  under  the  Melbourne  University 
Extension  system.  His  lecture  on  “ Tennyson’s  Message 
to  His  Age,”  was  years  ago  published  in  extenso  in 
the  Melbourne  press,  and  a report  of  it  reached  Lord 
Tennyson.  The  great  poet  conferred  on  Dr.  Rentoul 
the  honour  of  writing  to  him,  and  stating  that  he 
regarded  that  gentleman’s  criticism  and  estimate  as 
‘‘the  best,  or  one  of  the  best,  characterisations  that 
had  been  made  of  him  and  his  Message.” 

Dr.  Rentoul  was  interviewed  a short  time  ago  by  a 
representative  of  the  Perth  West  Australian^  and  his 
interviewer  says,  “ It  would  be  difficult  to  describe 
the  charm  of  Dr.  Rentoul’s  society,  when  he  gives 
expression  and  scope  to  his  literary  thoughts  and 
criticisms,  or  to  reproduce  all  his  utterances  during 
what  were,  to  the  visitor,  two  exceedingly  pleasant 
hours ; but  his  views  on  Australian  literature,  which 


198  AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 

formed  the  object  of  the  interview,  will  be  read  with 
interest/’ 

‘‘  As  to  Australian  literature,”  says  Dr.  Rentoul, 
“and  the  prospects  of  a great  school  of  Australasian 
poetry  and  prose  literature,  in  the  first  place  it  is 
often  overlooked  that  there  are  three  main  factors 
necessary  to  any  great  literature  and  any  school 
of  poetry.  One  factor  is  the  theme ; another  is  the 
age,  or  time ; a third  is  the  national  conditions  and 
environment.  One  of  these  conditions,  of  course, 
must  be  climate  and  the  physical  circumstances  of 
the  country.  The  great  literatures  have  arisen 
mainly  in  lands  of  varied  scenery — mountain  and 
valley,  and  river  and  sea.  Again,  the  great  literatures 
were  bound  up  with  the  history  of  a nation’s  struggles 
and  sufferings.  In  fact,  the  great  literatures  arose 
out  of  the  heart,  as  well  as  the  mind,  of  the  people. 

“ I may  illustrate  this  by  pointing  to  the  literature 
called  the  Bible,  which  arose  mainly  out  of  the  little 
land  of  Palestine,  and  out  of  the  struggles  and  woes 
of  its  people,  under  the  inspiring  force  of  trust  and 
hope  in  God.  It  was  the  land,  as  Scripture  says,  of 
brooks  and  fountains,  and  of  streams  that  flow  amongst 
the  hills.  Snow-clad  Hermon  rose  like  a vision  to  the 
north,  and  the  great  sea  washed  it  to  the  westward  ; and 
the  scenery  of  that  little  land  so  impressed  itself  upon 
the  imagination  and  heart  of  the  people  that  it  has 
given  inspiration  to  the  literature  of  all  modern  nations. 
Take,  similarly,  little  England,  little  Scotland,  little 
Switzerland,  little  Italy.  All  our  modern  English 
poetry  and  highest  literature  have  been  influenced,  and 
in  a large  measure  inspired,  by  the  thinkers,  and  singers, 
and  writers  of  ancient  tiny  Greece,  and  of  medieval 
little  Italy.  Through  both  ran  great  mountain  chains, 
round  which  clung  the  glamour  of  cloud  and  mist,  and 
in  their  glens  were  beauty  and  the  song  of  rivers. 


THE  LITERATURE  OF  AUSTRALASIA  199 

“ The  one  drawback  of  Australia  as  a literary  centre 
is  perhaps  that  it  is  too  huge,  and  its  scenery  and 
natural  surroundings  too  monotonous.  Again,  the  day 
is  perhaps  too  bright,  and  all  things  too  definite  and 
hard-lined.  The  hard  sun  shines  clear  into  the  Australian 
gullies,  and  in  Australia  there  are  no  ghosts.  Every- 
thing is  so  clear,  matter-of-fact,  and  definite.  You  must 
recognise  that  much  of  Browning's  best  was  made 
amongst  the  Apennines  of  Italy,  and  Tennyson's  best 
was  made,  some  of  it  amidst  the  fogs  of  London,  some 
of  it  amongst  the  wet  and  clouds  and  gleams  of  bright- 
ness and  of  shadow  that  mark  the  British  Islands. 
The  glamour  of  beauty  that  haunts,  for  example,  ‘ The 
Princess,'  was  due  to  his  visit  to  the  lakeland  of 
Killarney,  in  the  south  of  Ireland,  with  its  softness  of 
climate,  its  lingering  twilight  of  sunset,  its  ‘rain,  sun, 
and  rain,'  as  he  sings  himself  in  ‘The  Idylls  of  the  King.' 

“ Again,  in  Australia  we  must  not  be,  as  the  Yankees 
say,  ‘ too  previous.'  We  must  become  a nation  before 
we  can  expect  a great  national  literature.  It  was  only 
when  the  English  people  were  drawn  into  a passion 
of  unity  by  the  sufferings  of  the  people  and  by  the 
struggle  of  the  great  French  war  under  the  Plantagenets, 
that  the  English  language,  which  had  been  till  then  a 
language  of  the  yeoman  and  the  churl,  became,  on  the 
lips  and  pen  of  Chaucer,  a great  literary  voice.  You 
must  give  Australia  time. 

“ Taking  these  things  for  granted,  however,  the 
Australians  have  already,  I venture  to  think,  given 
good  promise  of  distinct  literary  power.  They  have 
also  already,  I think,  shown  that  Australian  poetry  and 
literature  will  ultimately  possess  a distinctive  speciality 
of  tone,  spirit,  and  theme.  Of  course,  the  Australian 
people  are  as  yet  so  British — so  English,  so  Irish,  so 
Scotch — that  Australian  literature,  whether  it  take  the 
form  of  poetry  or  prose,  must  for  a long  time  be  largely 


200 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


an  echo  of  the  great  poets  and  literary  writers  of  the 
old  lands.  This  is,  indeed,  the  main  charge  of  a hostile 
character  that  has  been  brought  against  Australian 
poetry  and  prose. 

‘‘Thus,  Adam  Lindsay  Gordon  is,  indeed,  not  an 
Australian.  He  was  born  in  the  old  country,  and  his 
influences  were  largely  drawn  from  the  old  country. 
So  with  various  other  writers  in  Australia.  At  the 
same  time,  take  even  Adam  Lindsay  Gordon  himself. 
Though  much  of  his  singing  is  imitative  of  Browning 
or,  in  quite  other  moods,  of  Swinburne,  yet  there  is  a 
distinctive  note  in  Gordon’s  poetry  that  is  characteristi- 
cally Australian.  There  is  in  it  the  clink  of  the  stirrup 
and  the  gallop  of  the  Australian  cross-country  hurdle- 
jumper.  There  is  in  it  the  crack  of  the  stockman’s 
whip,  and  there  is  also  in  it  the  subtle,  penetrating 
influence  of  the  Australian  bush — the  sense  of  lone- 
ness, and  widths  of  space,  and  monotony  of  existence 
only  to  be  broken  by  the  wild  gallop,  or  the  rounding 
up  of  the  rushing  cattle.  Take,  as  an  example,  ‘ The 
Sick  Stockrider.’ 

“Take,  again,  ‘How  we  Beat  the  Favourite.’  Here 
there  is  a distinct  something  quite  apart  from  the  mere 
theme,  that  marks  the  utterance  as  one  distinctively 
Australian  in  spirit.  Of  course  the  ‘ Lay  of  Britomarte,’ 
as  a mere  story,  could  have  been  written  in  England, 
and  yet  even  here  probably  it  could  not  have  been 
written  by  any  man  except  one  who  had  himself 
galloped  across  Australian  bush  country.  Much  of  the 
sadness  in  Gordon’s  verse  (a  sadness  finding  its  anodyne 
only  in  the  wine-cup)  is  not  necessarily  Australian, 
though  there  seems  a marked  tendency  to  that  sort 
of  thing  in  much  of  Australian  writing.  It  is  due,  I 
should  say,  more  to  Gordon’s  consciousness  that  by 
his  career  he  had  closed  the  gates  of  Opportunity 
behind  him,  apd  that  there  was  no  returning. 


THE  LITERATURE  OF  AUSTRALASIA 


201 


‘‘May  I tell  you  a story  here  about  Gordon  which 
I know  to  be  true  ? It  came  from  the  clergyman  who 
married  him,  one  of  our  Presbyterian  clergymen,  who 
was  himself  a literary  student.  Gordon,  as  you  know, 
was  a gentleman’s  son.  He  married  in  Victoria  a 
domestic,  a pure-minded,  but  uneducated  girl ; and  he 
did  so,  according  to  this  clergyman,  largely  to  indicate 
that  the  past  was  past,  and  that  there  was  no  going 
back.  But,  though  much  of  Gordon’s  verse  is  irreverent, 
he  could  not  endure  lewd  and  impure  talk  ; and  this 
is  the  story  I want  to  tell.  Gordon  was  invited  by  a 
wealthy  squatter  to  dinner.  He  accepted  the  invitation, 
but  after  the  ladies  had  retired,  when,  over  the  wine,  the 
conversation  and  the  jokes  had  begun  to  take  a coarse 
and  lewd  turn,  Gordon  immediately  rose  and  retired 
from  the  room.  He  always  carried  about  with  him  this 
memory  of  having  once  been  brought  up  in  a pure 
English  home,  and  of  being  a British  gentleman. 

“ Kendal,  again,  the  greatest  as  yet  of  our  Australian 
singers,  is  far  too  much  an  echo  of  Wordsworth,  Keats, 
and  others.  It  is  a very  sweet  echo,  with  a true  sense 
for  nature  and  the  true  feeling  of  humanity ; but,  except 
in  its  picture  of  Australian  scenery,  it  cannot  be  called 
distinctively  Australian. 

“ Australian  poetry  and  literary  prose  must  neces- 
sarily, I think,  be  for  a long  time  considerably 
dependent  upon  the  poetry  and  literature  of  the  old 
lands.  Thus,  for  example,  in  what  is  sometimes 
ambitiously  styled  the  ‘ new  Australian  School,’  repre- 
sented by  writers  like  Lawson,  ‘ Banjo  ’ Paterson  (‘  The 
Man  from  Snowy  River,’  the  poet  of  the  ‘ Never,  Never 
Country,’  and  so  forth),  the  imitation  of  Kipling,  and  of 
some  features  of  Swinburne,  is  too  palpable.  These 
writers  seem  to  know  only  one  resource  against  the 
ennui  or  dreariness  of  existence,  and  the  result  is  the 
devil-may-care  life  of  the  rouseabout  (as  the  New 


202 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


Zealanders  call  it),  or  the  gallop  on  horseback  across 
country,  or  the  hip-hip-hurrah ! of  the  ‘ jolly  good 
fellow  ’ over  the  tankard  of  beer  or  the  brandy  and 
soda.  This  is  the  danger  and  the  weakness  at  present 
of  much  of  Australian  verse.  It  is  only  due  to  these 
and  many  other  writers  to  point  out,  however,  that  there 
is  a deeper  element  in  their  feeling  and  sympathy,  and 
at  times  a nobler  note  in  their  singing.  They  are 
catching  more  and  more  of  the  spirit  that  is  distinctively 
Australian — or  Australasian,  one  should  say,  because 
we  must  remember  that  New  Zealand,  with  her  great 
snow-clad  mountain  chain,  her  rush  of  rivers,  and  her 
quite  different  flora,  will  afford  conditions  for  a quite 
distinctive  note  in  poetry  and  in  higher  literary  prose. 

“ In  all  Australasian  writing  of  the  more  distinctive 
kind  I think  one  may  observe  elements  or  features — 
characteristic  features  — such  as  these : A desire  to 
throw  off  conventionalities,  a love  of  physical  and  mental 
freedom,  even  to  the  over-assertion  of  individual  force 
perhaps,  a passionate  desire  for  an  out-of-doors,  un- 
trammelled kind  of  existence,  a love  of  dash,  of 
breeziness,  and  movement  and  action  in  life,  with  all 
the  while  a besetting  sense  of  the  vast  level  flatness 
of  the  country  and  of  the  monotony  of  human  existence. 

“ As  an  illustration  of  this,  I may  draw  attention  to 
the  young  cluster  of  poets  and  verse  writers  that  have 
been  brought  into  prominence  by  the  brilliant  Bulletin^ 
the  satirical  weekly  in  Sydney.  Some  of  these  writers 
possess  a singing  voice  of  great  sweetness,  and  at  times 
of  surprising  power.  Daly,  perhaps,  is  the  sweetest  and 
most  mystic  in  spirit  amongst  them.  He  is  at  times 
near  to  the  mood  of  Wordsworth  or  of  Keats.  Ogilvie, 
again,  has  a splendid  ring  of  manhood  and  forcefulness 
in  his  verse,  and  his  spirit  breathes  intense  love  for,  and 
loyalty  to  Australia  ; but  there  is  a besetting  and 
recurrent  reminiscence  oi  the  fact  that,  after  all  (and 


THE  LITERATURE  OF  AUSTRALASIA  203 

this,  perhaps,  is  seen  especially  in  Daly),  the  Damocles 
sword  of  fate  hangs  by  a hair  over  our  heads  as  we 
feast  and  sing,  and  the  sobbing  of  the  sea  is  heard 
through  the  song  of  the  upland  rivers. 

“ It  is  a curious  thing,  too,  that  the  stories  presented 
in  the  Bulletin  have  a prevailingly  sad  tone.  This, 
of  course,  will  necessarily  be  the  case  if  men  and  women 
leave  the  quickening  and  inspiring  hope  that  the  divinity 
in  God  and  in  a victorious  Christ  brings  to  man.  The 
late  R.  H.  Hutton,  of  the  Spectator^  in  London,  the 
foremost  literary  critic  of  his  time,  pointed  out  that 
George  Eliot’s  literary  and  artistic  creative  power 
loosened  and  lost  fibre  just  in  proportion  as  she 
abandoned  more  and  more  a definite  Christian  faith. 
Her  earliest  creations,  such  as  ‘ Adam  Bede,’  have  an 
artistic  unity  and  power  that  are  not  at  all  displayed 
in  the  much  later  ‘Daniel  Deronda.’  If  that  be  so,  it 
may  account  at  once  for  the  depressing  tone  and  the 
lack  of  the  highest  creative  power  in  Australian  novels. 
So  far  as  they  are  not  mere  stories  of  wild  adventure  or 
of  bushrangers  ; so  far  as  they  are  stories  of  social  life 
and  of  individual  character,  the  prevailing  tone  of  them 
seems  rather  sad  and  depressing. 

“ Of  course,  a supreme  instance  of  this  in  romance  is 
Thomas  Hardy.  In  proportion  as  he  has  abandoned  all 
faith  in  God  and  hope  for  the  progress  of  humanity,  in 
proportion  (as  evidenced  by  ‘Jude  the  Obscure’)  has 
his  creative  artistic  power  become  loosened  and 
deteriorated. 

“It  should  be  said,  however,  in  contrast  with  all  this, 
that  a good  deal  of  the  best  poetry  produced  of  late  has 
a quite  different  ring.  Take,  for  example,  the  ‘Songs 
of  the  South,’  and  other  poems  by  Mr.  J.  B.  O’Hara,  of 
the  South  Melbourne  College  (formerly  a distinguished 
student  of  our  Ormond  College,  though  he  himself  is  a 
Roman  Catholic).  His  best  poems  possess  fine  sweet- 


204 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


ness  of  cadence  and  rhythm,  a true  sense  of  the  varying 
moods  of  nature,  a sympathy  with  the  heart  throb  of 
humanity,  and  an  inspiring  hope  for  human  progress, 
because  he  has  trust  in  God.  Many  of  his  verses  are 
marked  by  a fine  felicity  and  a beauty  of  artistic  touch. 
If  the  thought  is  not  very  profound,  yet,  at  any  rate,  it 
is  true  to  the  heart's  instinct  and  to  humanity's  hope,  as 
well  as  out  of  nature,  and  the  fine  thing  is  that  it  is 
always  pure. 

“ Perhaps  the  finest  work  done  recently  in  Australian 
verse  is  the  sonnets  of  the  late  William  Gay,  of  Bendigo. 
Though  a great  thinker,  and  for  the  most  part  always 
confined  to  his  couch  of  pain,  his  sonnets  exhibit  a very 
high  order  of  feeling  and  of  artistic  workmanship.  His 
fine  sonnet  on  Australian  Federation,  so  often  recited  at 
Federation  assemblies  by  Mr.  Deakin  recently,  rises 
perhaps  nearer  the  voice  of  the  true  national  Australian 
poet  than  any  other  single  poem  that  has  been  written 
in  our  country. 

I may  mention,  in  a quite  different  mode,  the  poems 
of  Mr.  Alexander  Sutherland,  and  the  poems  of  John 
Sandes,  better  known  by  his  nom  de  plume  of  ‘ Oriel,' 
in  the  Argus,  Mr.  Sutherland's  poems  are  at  times 
philosophic,  at  times  remind  one  of  Wordsworth,  at 
times  have  upon  them  the  mood  or  echo  of  Shelley. 
‘ Oriel's,'  of  course,  are  in  a distinctly  lighter  vein,  but 
sometimes  in  the  mock  heroic  they  have  in  their  own 
way  an  excellent  quality.  Some  so-called  ‘ patriotic ' 
poems  produced  recently  by  Sutherland,  on  the  one 
hand,  and  by  ‘ Oriel ' on  the  other,  are  distinctly  good 
of  their  kind.  It  is  a kind  for  which  I myself  have  no 
great  respect,  but  I simply  speak  of  these,  recognising 
their  literary  merit. 

‘‘  Then  one  could  gladly  go  back  into  a higher  vein 
to  speak  of  Sladen  and  Stephen,  and  of  some  of  the 
Sydney  poets  identified  with  the  Bulletin,  But  I 


THE  LITERATURE  OF  AUSTRALASIA 


205 


think  I have  said  enough.  I do  not  doubt  that  there 
are  already  evidences  sufficient  to  warrant  the  belief 
that  when  Australia  becomes  unified,  begins  to  feel  the 
pulse  of  a large  common  national  life  and  national 
destiny,  becomes  impressed  with  the  deeper  spirit  which 
age  and  long  experience  and  the  weight  of  a nation’s 
burdens  bring ; in  short,  when  it  reaches  forward  out  of 
the  immature  transition  stage  into  mature  national  life, 
there  will  be  an  Australian  literature  both  in  poetry  and 
in  prose,  possessing  its  own  unique  characteristics.  The 
life  of  the  Australian  people,  by  the  sheer  conditions  of 
climate  and  of  manifold  environment,  will  be  a distinc- 
tive life,  having  characteristics  of  its  own,  and  Australian 
poetry  and  literature  will  necessarily  be  also  in  many 
respects  characteristic  and  unique. 

Still,  we  must  remember  that  the  old,  old  fashion 
will  always  abide  as  the  central  motive  force  of  litera- 
ture : the  old,  old  fashion  of  love  and  loss,  of  struggle 
and  endurance,  of  self-sacrifice  and  of  burden-bearing, 
of  laughter  and  tears,  of  love  and  of  death.  Literature 
is  a language  of  emotion.  As  my  great  master,  George 
Lillie  Craik,  said,  ‘ Wherever,  under  the  strong  impulse 
of  emotion,  language  grows  and  burns,  wherever  it  has 
the  effect  of  glow  and  colour,  it  is  literature  ; and  wher- 
ever that  literature  falls  into  cadence  and  rhythm  it  is 
poetry.’  There  will  always  abide  the  human  emotions 
of  love  and  yearning,  of  pity  and  sympathy  of  the  heart 
thrilled  under  the  touch  of  Nature’s  voices,  and  of  the 
spirit  called  upward  by  the  voice  of  God  while  other 
voices  call  and  lure  downward.  These  voices,  as 
Tennyson  called  them,  will  always  abide,  and  the  strong 
force  of  that  struggle  in  the  human  soul  will  always 
make  the  central  element  of  literature,  whether  the 
literature  be  poetry  or  prose.  The  Australian,  though 
his  skies  be  changed  and  the  land  around  be  all  different 
from  other  lands,  will  always  be  a human  soul.  The 


2o6 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


element  that  made  Shakespeare — the  love  and  the 
tempting  and  the  tragedy  of  life — will  be  in  Australia 
as  much  as  in  England,  and  this  will  always  be  the 
real  creative  force  making  a literature.  Wherever 
a people  is  gathered  together  into  a nation  we  may  look 
for  the  literature  as  a certain  result.” 

In  closing  the  interview,  Dr.  Rentoul  said  that  an 
Australian  writer  that  should  be  very  honourably  men- 
tioned was  Miss  Ethel  Turner,  of  Sydney.  She  had 
undoubtedly,  to  use  a Yankeeism,  ‘‘struck  ile  ” in 
Australian  prose.  She  had  given  a quite  distinct 
presentment  of  an  aspect  of  Australian  life,  and  had 
treated  in  her  own  line  childhood  and  young  boyhood 
and  girlhood  with  inimitable  felicity ; but  even  here 
was  found  a proof  of  the  tendency  of  sadness  which 
marked  Australian  romance  as  yet.  The  scene  created 
by  Miss  Turner  that  lived  imperishably  in  the  memory 
was — might  he  not  say? — the  death  of  Judy. 

It  was  evidently  because  she  is  his  daughter  that  Dr. 
Rentoul,  when  dealing  with  the  poetry  of  Australia, 
omitted  any  reference  to  the  poems  of  Miss  Annie  R. 
Rentoul,  who  is  fast  coming  into  prominence  as  one  of 
Australia’s  most  charming  songstresses.  Miss  Rentoul, 
who  is  only  in  her  seventeenth  year,  is  a cousin  of  Mrs. 
Rentoul-Esler,  the  well-known  novelist.  Four  of  Miss 
Rentoul’s  most  recent  productions  are  here  given  : — 

^‘THE  LEGEND  OF  THE  BLACK  SWANS” 

I 

Do  you  hear  them  softly  singing  by  the  swiftly  rushing  waters  ? 

Wildly  sweet  their  song  is,  and  full  of  untold  woe  ! 

Hear,  oh,  hear  the  singing  of  the  dark  chief’s  lovely  daughters. 
Mourning  for  the  happy  long  ago. 

II 

Once  their  laughter  rang  as  gladly  as  the  ripple  of  the  river. 
When  they  drooped  their  dusky  faces  down,  with  golden 
wattles  crowned. 


THE  LITERATURE  OF  AUSTRALASIA 


207 


To  watch  the  bright  reflections  upon  the  waters  quiver, 
Where  the  scented  lilies  blossomed  round. 


III 

Sad  the  day  when  thro’  the  lilacs  called  the  hungry  water- 
witches, — 

Chief,  we  want  your  lovely  daughters,  the  maidens  fair 
and  gay. 

Or,  we  will  starve  your  cattle,  and  steal  away  your  riches. 

And  destroy  your  shining  grass-lands  in  a day.” 

IV 

I will  never  give  my  daughters,  little  maids  of  all  my 
loving. 

Like  the  merry,  merry  bell-birds,  their  voices  sound  to  me  ! 

I will  never  give  my  daughters,  in  the  wild  woods  they  are 
moving. 

Like  the  lissom  grasses  swaying  free  ! ” 

V 

Rose  the  river  in  the  night-time,  when  the  summer  stars  were 
gleaming. 

And  the  water-witches  clapped  their  hands,  and  said  : Oh  ! 
maidens  three. 

Do  you  hear  the  night-wind  moaning,  and  the  darkling  waters 
streaming  ? 

Maidens,  lift  your  dusky  lids  and  see  ! ” 

VI 

Beneath  the  scented  gum-trees  swiftly  crept  the  cruel  river. 

Where  the  sisters  lay  a-sleeping,  their  slender  arms  en- 
twined ; 

The  moon-beams  kissed  their  faces,  and  the  night  sounds 
murmured  ever. 

With  the  eerie  sighing  of  the  wind. 


VII 

Little  maidens,  hear  the  voices  of  the  great  and  strong  gods 
calling — 

We  lend  the  dusky  storm-clouds  to  you  for  saving  wings ! ” 
And  they  soared  above  the  waters,  their  voices  rising,  falling. 
In  the  ’trancing  song  the  wild-swan  sings. 


2o8 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


VIII 

When  the  sun  has  flush’d  the  Heaven,  and  the  wind  has 
ceased  its  sighing, 

And  the  black-man’s  guides,  the  shining  stars,  begin  to 
blink, 

Hear  the  swans,  the  little  daughters,  like  the  lonely  Bunyip 
crying. 

At  the  lapping  water’s  brink. 


NOBODY  KNOWS 


I 

Nobody  knows,  but  I know. 

Deep  where  the  heart-love  lies 
Why,  at  the  scent  of  the  violet 
The  tears  spring  to  my  eyes. 


II 

Away  in  the  dusky  woodlands 
Mourneth  a lonely  thrush ; 
The  sun  is  red  in  the  beeches. 
The  shades  of  evening  hush. 


Ill 

Nobody  knows,  but  I know. 

She  is  sleeping  soft  and  sound, 
Her  quiet  hands  are  folded. 

Her  golden  hair  is  bound. 


IV 

Far  off  in  the  quiet  valley 
Murmurs  a homing  dove. 

His  music  can  tell  his  meaning. 
But  I cannot  tell  my  love. 


V 

Nobody  knows,  but  I know. 
Maybe  she  hears  my  song. 

For  the  grasses  bending  over  her 
Whisper  it  all  day  long. 


THE  LITERATURE  OF  AUSTRALASIA 


209 


THE  LOST  LOVES 

I 

Oh,  the  green  lanes,  the  green  lanes. 

The  mossy  lanes  of  maying. 

Where  we  used  to  wander,  my  little  Love  and  I. 

Oh  ! bluer  were  her  sweet  eyes  than  all  the  violets  straying. 
And  softer  was  her  soft  voice  than  meadow-grasses’  sigh. 

Little  lost  Love,  goodbye  ! 

II 

Oh  ! the  woodlands,  the  woodlands. 

The  shining  woods  of  June-time, 

Where  we  used  to  wander,  my  happy  Love  and  1. 

Oh  ! redder  were  her  soft  cheeks  than  roses  in  their  bloom- 
time, 

And  clearer  was  her  calling  voice  than  mavis’  summer  cry. 
Happy  lost  Love,  goodbye  ! 

III 

Oh  ! the  gray  wolds,  the  gray  wolds. 

The  night, — the  dreary  high  wolds. 

Where  we  used  to  wander,  my  great  strong  Love  and  I. 

Oh  ! truer  was  his  true  heart  than  all  the  stars  the  sky  holds. 
And  stronger  was  his  strong  right  arm  than  night  winds 
rushing  by. 

Oh  ! my  strong  Love,  goodbye  ! 


IV 

Oh  ! the  dreamland,  the  dreamland. 

The  land  of  shadowy  meeting. 

Where  we  often  wander  now,  my  dear  lost  Loves  and  I : 

I see  their  longing  faces  in  the  moonlight  passing,  fleeting. 
And  hear  their  voices  calling  me,  but  I can  only  cry, 

Dear  and  lost  Loves,  goodbye  ! 


DREAMLAND 

I 

Sky — where  the  Sun,  evanishing,  has  blushed. 

When  one  pale  Star  first  heralded  the  Moon, 
Wrapped  in  her  mystic  robes,  while  evening  hushecl 
To  her  approach  eftsoon. 

IS 


210 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NFAY 


II 

Fields — where  all  day  the  nodding  poppies  kissed, 
And  Sleep  has  sent  his  messengers  from  far, 
The  winged  winds,  who  wander  as  they  list 
Where  secret  fancies  are. 

Ill 

Shadows — where  woven  vasts  of  thought- webs  lie, 
Melodies  wondrous  from  a waveless  sea. 
Mysterious  chantings,  leaves  that,  rustling,  die. 
Echoes  from  Faerie. 


IV 

Time — like  a rosebud’s  span,  yet  like  the  sky. 
Mist-clouded,  weird,  a magic  unknown  deep. 
Where  Thought,  in  Dream’s  dim-shrouded  Treasury, 
Wanders  with  sleep. 


Neither  in  romance  nor  in  the  realms  of  poetry  has 
New  Zealand  been  fruitful  of  so  many  writers  as 
Australia.  As  yet,  it  has  produced  no  Marcus  Clarke, 
or  Rolf  Boldrewood  (Mr.  Brown),  or  any  authors 
whose  books  have  gained  nearly  so  much  popularity  as 
“His  Natural  Life''  and  “ Robbery  under  Arms."  Its 
poets  are  few  in  number,  and  Thomas  Bracken  is 
perhaps  the  only  one  who  has  soared  to  any  distinction. 
His  volume,  “ Land  of  the  Moa,"  contains  many  excel- 
lent specimens  of  versification,  and  “Not  Understood" 
is  unquestionably  one  of  his  best  efforts.  Poor  Bracken, 
afflicted  with  a painful  and  prolonged  illness,  died  at 
Dunedin  a few  years  ago — the  author  is  sorry  to  say  in 
reduced  circumstances. 


CHAPTER  XIX 


AUSTRALIA  A NATION 

Although  nttle  more  than  a decade  has  passed 
since  the  movement  for  the  federation  of  the 
Australasian  Colonies  was  taken  seriously  by  the  public 
men  and  people  of  Australia,  it  must  not  be  supposed 
that  the  idea  was  not  entertained  at  a very  much  earlier 
period  of  Australian  history.  Indeed,  as  far  back  as 
1857  a Select  Committee  of  the  Legislative  Council 
of  New  South  Wales  recommended  that  a meeting 
should  be  held  of  delegates  from  the  Legislatures 
of  New  South  Wales,  Victoria,  South  Australia,  and 
Tasmania,  with  a view  of  devising  a plan  for  a General 
Assembly  for  all  the  Colonies,  which  should  deal  with 
all  matters  of  federal  importance  and  concern.  It  unfor- 
tunately happened,  however,  that  very  little  attention 
was  paid  to  this  recommendation,  because  the  Council 
who  promulgated  it  accompanied  it  with  a proposal  to 
establish  a hereditary  aristocracy.  This  proposal  brought 
the  Council  into  very  bad  odour  with  the  public,  who, 
while  they  laughed  the  hereditary  nobility  idea  to 
scorn,  allowed  the  federation  question  practically  to 
lapse  altogether.  From  that  period  up  to  the  seventies 
it  remained  almost  entirely  forgotten,  and  its  revival 
was  due  to  Sir  Henry  Parkes.  At  first  Australian 
federation  met  with  little  encouragement ; generally 
speaking,  its  advocates  were  subjected  to  a great  deal 


212 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


of  ridicule  ; they  were  called  dreamers,  and  “ fadera- 
tion  ’’  was  the  nickname  which  was  applied  to  the 
project,  and  its  advocates  were  called  “ Faderationists.” 
This  ridicule  did  not  dishearten  those  who  had  em- 
braced the  faith  of  an  united  Australia,  and  the 
movement  derived  a great  impetus  from  a very  able 
speech  in  support  of  Australian  federation  which  was 
delivered  by  Sir  Hercules  Robinson,  then  Governor  of 
New  South  Wales,  at  the  border  town  of  Albury  in 
1876.  From  that  time  the  movement  took  practical 
shape,  and  its  supporters  pushed  the  question  to  the 
forefront  of  Australian  politics.  They  had  still  to  work 
for  ten  years  before  they  could  succeed  in  bringing 
their  agitation  to  a stage  when  the  various  Colonies 
interested  could  be  induced  to  take  united  action.  The 
British  Parliament  passed  an  Act  providing  for  the 
formation  of  a Federal  Council,  and  in  January,  1886, 
the  first  meeting  of  the  Federal  Council  was  held  at 
Hobart,  Tasmania.  Victoria,  Queensland,  Tasmania, 
Western  Australia,  and  Fiji  sent  delegates  to  this  Federal 
Council.  Strange  to  say,  the  Colony  which  first  gave 
birth  to  the  idea  of  federation  (New  South  Wales)  was 
unrepresented,  and  New  Zealand  and  South  Australia 
also  declined  to  join  in  the  deliberations  of  the  first 
Federal  Council,  but  South  Australia  sent  representa- 
tives to  the  Council  at  a subsequent  period. 

The  greatest  advance  towards  federation  was  made  at 
the  conference  which  assembled  in  Melbourne  in  1890, 
under  the  presidency  of  Sir  Henry  Parkes.  Resolutions 
were  passed  affirming  the  desirableness  of  an  early 
union  of  the  Australian  Colonies  on  principles  just  to 
all  ; that  the  remoter  Australasian  Colonies  should  be 
entitled  to  admission  upon  terms  to  be  afterwards 
agreed  upon  ; and  that  steps  should  be  taken  for  the 
appointment  of  delegates  to  a National  Australasian 
Convention  to  consider  and  report  upon  an  adequate 


AUSTRALIA  A NATION 


213 


scheme  for  a Federal  Constitution.  Accordingly,  on 
March  2,  1891,  the  National  Australasian  Convention, 
consisting  of  delegates  appointed  by  the  various 
Colonies,  assembled  at  Sydney,  under  the  presidency 
of  Sir  Henry  Parkes.  This  Convention  was  representa- 
tive of  all  the  Colonies  in  the  Australasian  group,  and 
one  of  the  first  delegates  sent  by  New  Zealand  was  the 
late  Sir  George  Grey.  At  this  Convention  a series  of 
resolutions  were  moved  by  Sir  Henry  Parkes,  and  these, 
after  discussion  and  amendment,  were  adopted  in  the 
following  form,  affirming — 

1st.  The  powers  and  rights  of  existing  Colonies  to 
remain  intact  except  as  regards  such  powers  as  it  may 
be  necessary  to  hand  over  to  the  Federal  Government. 

2nd.  No  alteration  to  be  made  in  States  without  the 
consent  of  the  Legislatures  of  such  States,  as  well  as  of 
the  Federal  Parliament. 

3rd.  Trade  between  the  federated  Colonies  to  be 
absolutely  free. 

4th.  Powers  to  impose  Customs  and  Excise  Duties 
to  be  in  the  Federal  Government  and  Parliament. 

5th.  Military  and  Naval  Defence  Forces  to  be  under 
one  command. 

6th.  The  Federal  Constitution  to  make  provision  to 
enable  each  State  to  make  amendments  in  its  Con- 
stitution if  necessary  for  the  purposes  of  Federation. 

Further  resolutions  were  passed  for  the  framing  of  a 
Federal  Constitution  which  should  establish  a Senate 
and  House  of  Representatives,  the  latter  to  possess  the 
sole  power  of  originating  money  Bills  ; also  a Federal 
Supreme  Court  of  Appeal,  and  an  Executive  consisting 
of  a Governor-General,  with  such  persons  as  might  be 
appointed  as  his  advisers. 

One  would  have  supposed  that  when  the  movement 
had  got  so  far  as  this  the  federation  of  the  Colonies  was 
close  at  hand,  but  somehow  or  other  no  action  was 


21^  AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 

taken  by  their  Parliaments  to  give  effect  to  the  resolu- 
tions of  the  Sydney  Convention.  The  apathy  evinced 
upon  the  subject  was  most  surprising,  and  for  three  or 
four  years  the  federal  movement  remained  practically 
in  abeyance.  Ultimately,  Mr.  G.  H.  Reid,  the  Premier 
of  New  South  Wales,  came  to  its  rescue,  and  to  that 
gentleman's  action  must  be  attributed  the  successful 
march  of  federation  onward  from  1 894.  At  his  invita- 
tion the  Premiers  of  the  other  Colonies  met  in  conference 
at  Hobart  in  1895.  All  Australasian  Colonies  were 
represented  at  this  conference  except  New  Zealand, 
which  had  withdrawn  from  the  federation  movement 
at  an  early  period,  and  has  ever  since  maintained  a 
policy  of  isolation  in  regard  to  it.  At  this  Hobart 
Conference  of  1895  it  was  decided  to  ask  the  Parlia- 
ment of  each  Colony  to  pass  a Bill  enabling  the  electors 
who  were  qualified  to  vote  for  members  of  the  Lower 
House  in  each  Colony  to  choose  ten  persons  to  repre- 
sent the  Colony  on  a Federal  Convention,  whose  work 
would  be  the  framing  of  a Federal  Constitution  to  be 
afterwards  submitted  to  the  people  for  approval  by 
means  of  the  Referendum.  It  was  this  thoroughly 
democratic  principle  in  Mr.  Reid’s  scheme  which  led 
to  such  satisfactory  results.  During  1896  what  were 
called  Enabling  Acts  to  give  effect  to  Mr.  Reid’s  pro- 
posals were  passed  by  New  South  Wales,  Victoria, 
South  Australia,  Tasmania,  and  Queensland  eventually 
joined.  All  the  Colonial  Parliaments  except  Western 
Australia  passed  these  Enabling  Bills,  and  at  the 
Referendum  the  P'ederal  Constitution  was  adopted  by 
large  majorities  in  New  South  Wales,  Queensland, 
Victoria,  South  Australia,  and  Tasmania.  Western 
Australia  held  aloof  for  some  time,  but  at  the  eleventh 
hour  its  Parliament  passed  the  Enabling  Bill,  and  the 
Referendum  gave  the  electors’  sanction  to  it  by  a large 
majority. 


AUSTRALIA  A NATION 


2IS 

Consequently  the  whole  Continent  of  Australia  and 
the  island  of  Tasmania  are  now  comprised  within  the 
Australian  Commonwealth. 

It  is  difficult  to  understand  New  Zealand's  attitude 
on  the  federation  question,  except  that  it  does  not 
possess  any  men  in  power  who  can  be  called  states- 
men. By  these  politicians  distance  has  been  urged  as 
a reason  against  federation ; but  distance  counted  for 
nothing  when  annexation  of  the  Cook  and  other  islands 
was  recently  made  by  that  Colony.  These  islands  are 
all  farther  away  from  New  Zealand  than  New  Zealand 
is  from  Australia,  and  while  the  men  now  in  power  did 
not  relish  the  idea  of  being  governed  from  Australia, 
they  were  ready  themselves  to  govern  islands  which  were 
more  remote  ; and  seeing  what  has  taken  place  in  New 
Zealand  with  regard  to  the  Maoris  and  their  lands, 
it  is  quite  easy  to  understand  the  action  of  Sir  Thomas 
O’Brien,  the  Governor  of  Fiji,  in  warning  the  natives  of 
those  islands  against  annexation  by  New  Zealand.  Sir 
Thomas  O’Brien’s  action  does  him  great  credit,  and 
he  has  rendered  signal  service  to  the  Fijian  natives 
by  warning  them  against  submitting  themselves  to  be 
governed  by  a colony  so  remote  as  New  Zealand  is 
from  Fiji.  It  is  essentially  to  the  best  interests  of  the 
Fijian  islanders  that  they  should  not  submit  to  being 
governed  from  New  Zealand. 

In  the  matter  of  Australian  federation  it  is  just  as 
well  to  point  out  that  there  will  be  portions  of  the  Aus- 
tralian Continent  even  more  remote  from  its  seat  of 
Government  than  New  Zealand  will  be;  therefore  the 
plea  of  distance  as  an  excuse  for  isolation  counts  for  very 
little.  Distance  was  not  really  the  great  objection  it  has 
been  represented  to  be.  The  real  fact  of  the  matter  is 
that  New  Zealand  abounds  in  politicians  who  are  incap- 
able of  grasping  the  situation,  whose  ideals  are  not  of  a 
very  lofty  kind,  and  who  fear,  above  all  things  else,  that 


2i6 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


New  Zealand’s  inclusion  in  the  Commonwealth  would 
carry  with  it  their  own  political  extinction.  Better,  abler, 
and  more  truly  representative  men  would  require  to  be 
sent  to  the  Federal  Parliament,  and,  as  they  know  that 
they  would  have  no  chance  in  any  national  competition 
of  the  kind,  self-interest  urges  them  to  allow  New 
Zealand  to  retain  only  the  status  of  a province  whilst 
a great  nation  exists  a little  more  than  twelve  hundred 
miles  from  their  shores.  Amongst  public  men  who  are 
not  in  power  there  are  many  who  foresee  that  the  time 
will  come  when  New  Zealand  cannot  afford  to  remain 
outside  the  Australian  Commonwealth.  Foremost  among 
them  is  Sir  Robert  Stout,  one  of  the  very  few  real  states- 
men New  Zealand  can  now  unfortunately  boast  of,  and 
the  leading  spirit  of  true  democracy  in  that  part  of  the 
world.  Sir  Robert  Stout  has  been  strongly  in  favour 
of  federation  all  along ; and  Mr.  Gresley  Lukin  deserves 
special  mention  for  the  many  excellent  articles  he 
has  written  in  support  of  the  federation  propaganda. 
Already  New  Zealanders  are  taking  alarm  at  the  policy 
of  isolation  which  has  hitherto  been  pursued  on  the 
subject ; but  it  is  alarm  of  a selfish  kind.  As  the  fiscal 
policy  of  the  Australian  Commonwealth  will  be  one  of 
free  trade  amongst  the  federating  Colonies  and  of  pro- 
tection against  the  outside  world.  New  Zealanders  are 
beginning  to  see  that  the  Commonwealth’s  tariff  may 
seriously  affect  their  interests,  more  especially  as  the 
producers  of  that  Colony  have  hitherto  been  doing  a 
very  large  amount  of  trade  with  New  South  Wales, 
Victoria,  and  other  portions  of  the  Continent.  Under 
the  circumstances,  the  Federal  Parliament  cannot  be 
expected  to  frame  a Customs  tariff  specially  favourable 
to  New  Zealand,  and  therefore  the  inhabitants  of  that 
Colony  see  when  it  may  be  too  late  that  by  standing  so 
frigidly  aloof  from  the  federation  movement  their  own 
interests  may  have  been  seriously  endangered,  and  it 


AUSTRALIA  A NATION 


217 


was  this  feeling  which  prompted  the  appointment  of  a 
Royal  Commission  to  inquire  into  the  whole  subject 
and  report  to  Parliament  at  its  session  during  the 
present  year.  That  Royal  Commission  is  composed 
of  men  who,  for  by  far  the  most  part,  are  known 
to  be  opposed  to  federation,  and  the  probability  is 
that  they  will  report  against  it.  Nothing  else  can 
be  expected  from  a Commission  so  constituted.  But 
their  report  will  not  stop  the  movement  in  favour  of 
federation  which  is  taking  place  in  that  Colony.  The 
pity  of  it  all  is  that  New  Zealand  did  not  join  the 
Commonwealth  as  an  original  State. 

The  Federation  Act  passed  by  the  Imperial  Parlia- 
ment gives  to  the  Australian  Commonwealth  the  most 
extensive  powers  of  self-government,  while  retaining  to 
the  various  States  of  the  Union  absolute  control  over 
their  own  local  and  internal  affairs.  It  is  in  all 
essential  particulars  the  measure  adopted  by  over- 
whelming majorities  of  the  people  in  Australia  and 
Tasmania,  and  their  mandate  to  the  delegates  taking 
the  measure  to  Westminster  was  ‘‘the  Bill,  the  whole 
Bill,  and  nothing  but  the  Bill.”  With  one  exception, 
these  delegates  loyally  adhered  to  their  trust — a trust 
confided  to  them  by  the  voice  of  a free  and  enlightened 
people  desiring  the  fullest  measure  of  self-government ; 
and  well  for  them  it  was  that  they  had  two  such 
representative  men  as  Mr.  Barton  and  Mr.  Deakin  to 
safeguard  their  interests,  and  to  contend  so  manfully 
and  steadfastly  for  what  they  were  sent  to  London  to 
obtain.  The  public  of  Great  Britain  and  of  Australia  are 
fully  acquainted  with  the  persistent  attempts  which  were 
made  by  Mr.  Chamberlain  and  others  to  emasculate  that 
measure  of  self-government,  and  how  these  attempts 
were  defeated  one  after  another  by  the  uncompromising 
attitude  of  Mr.  Barton,  of  New  South  Wales,  Mr.  Deakin, 
of  Victoria,  and  some  of  the  other  delegates.  Had  they 


2i8 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


not  been  successful,  a very  awkward  position  might 
have  resulted,  because  the  people  of  Australia  were 
determined  upon  having  their  Bill,  and  they  viewed 
with  considerable  indignation  the  efforts  which  were 
made  in  the  Imperial  Parliament  to  emasculate  it  in 
a way  which  would  have  so  materially  curtailed  their 
rights  and  powers  of  self-government.  For  the  defeat  of 
these  efforts  the  Australian  people  must  ever  look  back 
with  feelings  of  thankfulness  to  men  like  Mr.  Barton 
and  Mr.  Deakin,  to  whose  firmness  and  consistent  action 
they  undoubtedly  owe  the  Act  which  has  elevated 
them  to  the  proud  position  which  Australia  now  holds 
amongst  the  nations  of  the  world. 

It  is  much  to  be  regretted  that  anything  should  have 
happened  to  cause  friction  at  the  installing  stages  of  the 
Commonwealth.  Everybody  in  Australia  was  pleased 
more  orless  when  Lord  Hopetounwas  appointed  as  itsfirst 
Governor-General.  Lord  Hopetoun  had  been  Governor 
of  Victoria  for  a term,  and  was  very  popular  with  the 
people  there.  It  was,  therefore,  believed  that  he  would 
be  equally  successful  and  popular  in  the  higher  position 
to  which  the  British  Government  appointed  him ; but 
no  one  was  prepared  for  the  initial  mistake  he  made 
when  he  reached  Australia  to  enter  upon  his  new 
functions.  Opinion  was  unanimous  that  Mr.  Barton, 
by  his  strenuous  exertions  on  behalf  of  federation,  and 
his  loyalty  to  the  wishes  of  the  people  while  in  London, 
had  established  a claim  far  above  that  of  any  one  else 
to  be  entrusted  with  the  formation  of  the  first  Federal 
Government.  It  was  decreed  otherwise,  and  it  will  take 
a great  deal  of  explanation  to  remove  the  impression 
in  Australia  that  he  was  purposely  passed  over  because  of 
the  uncompromising  attitude  he  had  taken  up  during  the 
passage  of  the  Commonwealth  Bill  through  the  Imperial 
Barliamcnt.  Be  that  as  it  may,  and  whether  or  not  Lord 
Hopetoun  acted  upon  his  own  motion  or  by  instructions 


AUSTRALIA  A NATION 


219 


from  the  Colonial  Office,  the  public  were  taken  altogether 
by  surprise  when  Lord  Hopetoun  sent  for  Sir  William 
Lyne,  and  entrusted  him  with  the  task  of  forming  the  first 
Federal  Ministry.  Sir  William  Lyne  had  been  one  of 
the  greatest  opponents  of  federation,  and  why  he  should 
be  the  first  one  sent  for  to  form  a Cabinet  no  one  could 
understand,  except  for  the  reasons  already  stated.  It  is 
true  that  he  happened  at  the  time  to  be  the  Premier  of 
the  Mother  Colony,  as  New  South  Wales  is  called,  and 
that  fact  is  urged  as  an  ample  justification  of  Lord 
Hopetoun's  action  in  the  matter.  Probably  if  Sir  William 
Lyne  had  been  a supporter  of  the  federation  cause  his 
preference  would  have  caused  neither  comment  nor  sur- 
prise ; but  it  was  his  opposition  to  it,  and  Mr.  Barton  s 
strenuous  advocacy  of  federation  which  made  the  selec- 
tion of  Sir  William  Lyne  all  the  more  surprising,  and 
called  forth  such  a vigorous  protest  against  Mr.  Barton 
having  been  passed  over  for  political  reasons.  It  is  fair 
to  Sir  William  Lyne  to  say  that  he  had  no  hand  in 
the  business.  He  recognised  at  once  that  Mr.  Barton’s 
claims  were  superior  to  his  own,  and  lost  no  time  in 
recommending  Lord  Hopetoun  to  send  for  that  gentle- 
man. Mr.  Barton  was  sent  for  accordingly,  and  soon 
he  succeeded  in  forming  the  first  Federal  Ministry,  and 
a strong  one  too.  It  was  composed  as  follows  : — 

Rt.  Hon.  Edmund  Barton,  Prime  Minister  and  Exterior  Affairs. 

Hon.  Sir  W.  Lyne,  Home  Affairs. 

Hon.  Alfred  Deakin,  Attorney-General  and  Minister  for  Justice. 

Rt.  Hon.  G.  Turner,  Treasurer. 

Rt.  Hon.  C.  C.  Kingston,  Trade  and  Customs. 

Rt.  Hon.  Sir  J.  Forest,  Postmaster-General. 

Hon.  Sir  J.  R.  Dickson,  Minister  for  Defence. 

Unfortunately  the  Hon.  Sir  J.  R.  Dickson  died  a 
week  or  two  after  the  formation  of  this  first  Federal 
Ministry.  The  Hon.  J.  G.  Drake,  Queensland’s  Post- 
master-General and  Minister  of  Education,  has  been 
appointed  as  Federal  Postmaster-General,  and  in  con- 


220 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


sequence  of  the  rearrangement  of  portfolios  Sir  J.  Forest 
becomes  Minister  for  Defence. 

In  forming  his  Cabinet  Mr.  Barton  selected  two 
Ministers  from  New  South  Wales  (himself  and  Sir 
William  Lyne) ; two  from  Victoria  (Right  Hon.  Sir  G. 
Turner  and  the  Hon.  Alfred  Deakin),  one  from  South 
Australia  (Right  Hon.  C.  C.  Kingston),  one  from  Queens- 
land (Hon.  Sir  J.  R.  Dickson,  since  deceased),  and  one 
from  Western  Australia  (Right  Hon.  Sir  J.  Forest).  The 
Hon.  N.  E.  Lewis,  Premier  of  Tasmania,  was  included 
in  the  Cabinet,  without  portfolio.  It  might  have  been 
better  if  provision  had  been  made  for  allotting  a Cabinet 
Minister  with  a portfolio  to  each  State,  as  the  whole 
number  could  not  exceed  nine  in  the  event  of  New 
Zealand  coming  in  at  a later  period  ; but  this  is  a detail 
which  can  easily  be  provided  for.  It  is  obvious  that  no 
single  State  like  Tasmania  will  relish  the  idea  of 
not  having  a full-fledged  representative  in  the  Cabinet ; 
and  it  is  only  reasonable  to  assume  that  a colony 
of  the  population  and  importance  of  New  Zealand 
would  insist,  as  a condition  precedent  to  joining 
the  Commonwealth,  that  it  should  have  Cabinet 
representation.  There  would  then  be  a total  number 
of  seven  States  in  all,  and,  two  Ministers  being  allotted 
to  Victoria  and  New  South  Wales,  the  remaining  five 
seats  would  give  one  each  to  Queensland,  South  Aus- 
tralia, Western  Australia,  Tasmania,  and  New  Zealand, 
when  the  last-mentioned  Colony  joins  the  Common- 
wealth, as  most  likely  it  will  do  before  long,  despite  the 
expected  report  of  the  Royal  Commission  to  the  contrary. 

The  birth  of  the  Australian  Commonwealth  was 
celebrated  amid  great  rejoicings  at  Sydney  on  the 
1st  of  January  last — one  hundred  and  twelve  years  after 
the  arrival  of  Governor  Phillip  in  Botany  Bay.  The 
elections  for  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives 
have  taken  place  in  the  various  States  in  accordance 


AUSTRALIA  A NATION 


221 


with  the  electoral  laws  in  force  in  each  of  them.  The 
first  Parliament  will  meet  in  Melbourne  at  the  beginning 
of  May,  and  Melbourne  will  be  the  place  of  meeting 
until  a Federal  Capital  is  established.  The  Act  provides 
that  the  capital  shall  not  be  situate  less  than  one  hundred 
miles  distant  from  Sydney,  and  speculation  is  rife  as  to 
the  place  which  will  be  fixed  upon  for  the  capital.  A 
Commissioner  has  been  travelling  round  the  Colonies 
making  inquiries  and  collecting  information,  and  his 
report  will  be  submitted  to  the  Federal  Parliament  when 
it  meets.  It  is  believed  that  the  town  of  Orange  in  New 
South  Wales  stands  a good  chance  of  being  selected. 

It  was  Mr.  Barton’s  intention  to  postpone  considera- 
tion of  the  fiscal  policy  until  a later  period,  but  the 
free  traders  of  New  South  Wales,  led  by  Mr.  G.  H.  Reid, 
forced  the  issue,  and  consequently  the  first  elections, 
which  took  place  on  the  29th  and  30th  of  last  month, 
were  fought  upon  the  question  of  protection  and 
free  trade.  Mr.  Reid  favoured  a free  trade  policy,  and  an 
arrangement  of  the  tariff  for  revenue  purposes  only.  Mr. 
Barton  supported  a policy  of  moderate  protection,  for  the 
establishment  and  encouragement  of  local  industries  as 
well  as  those  already  in  existence.  Mr.  Barton  also 
advocated  a white  Australia  ; that  is  to  say,  that  it  should 
be  settled  by  a white  population,  and  that  the  importation 
of  coloured  labour  from  the  islands  should  be  discontinued 
after  sufficient  notice  of  its  intended  discontinuance  has 
been  given  to  ‘ the  planters  in  Queensland  and  other 
parts  of  the  Continent.  This  declaration  secured  for 
him  the  support  of  the  Labour  Party ; but  it  is  difficult 
to  see  how  white  men  will  be  able  to  work  in  the  tropical 
portions  of  Australia,  where  the  heat  in  summer  is  very 
intense. 

In  analysing  the  results  of  the  recent  Federal  elections, 
it  would  appear  that  in  the  Senate  the  Government  has 
a majority  of  about  five,  In  the  House  of  Represent 


222 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


tatives  Mr.  Barton  has  secured  a solid  majority  of  about 
a dozen.  Even  in  the  free-trade  stronghold  (New  South 
Wales)  the  low-tariff  members  are  only  six  more  than 
those  who  support  a high  tariff ; while  in  Victoria  (the 
protectionist  State  par  excellence)  the  victory  of  the  high- 
tariff  candidates  has  been  very  pronounced,  only  four  out 
of  the  twenty-three  seats  being  secured  by  the  free-traders. 
The  most  remarkable  feature  of  the  elections  is  the  suc- 
cess of  the  Labour  Party.  For  the  Senate  its  candidates 
have  won  eight  seats  out  of  a total  of  thirty-six,  and  for 
the  House  of  Representatives  sixteen  seats  out  of 
seventy-five  stand  to  its  credit.  While  the  Melbourne 
Argus  (low-tariff  organ)  gives  Mr.  Barton  a majority  of 
only  five  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  the  Age  (pro- 
tectionist) sets  his  majority  down  at  fifteen.  Between 
these  two  estimates  of  the  position  of  parties,  made  by 
low  and  high-tariff  organs  respectively,  it  is  clear  that 
Mr.  Barton’s  majority  is  a substantial  one  in  the  Lower 
House.  He  is  confronted,  however,  by  a very  strong 
man  in  Opposition,  Mr.  Reid,  and  it  is  likely  that  the 
tariff  will  be  a matter  of  compromise,  of  give-and-take, 
between  the  representatives  of  the  various  States,  with 
a preponderance  in  favour  of  a moderate  measure  of 
protection  against  the  outside  world,  because  revenue 
must  be  obtained,  and  the  Commonwealth’s  own 
industries  must  be  protected  up  to  a certain  limit, 
probably  not  exceeding  an  average  of  12  or  15  per  cent. 
There  will  be  free  trade,  of  course,  amongst  all  the 
States  of  the  Union. 

The  Australian  Commonwealth  has  been  established 
under  conditions  which  give  promise  of  a marvellous 
development  and  prosperity,  and  its  record  will  be  a 
truly  wonderful  one  by  the  time  the  first  half  of  the  new 
century  is  reached.  The  natural  resources  of  Australia 
are  so  great  and  varied,  and  its  mineral  wealth  apparently 
so  inexhaustible,  that  it  cannot  fail  to  progress  by  leaps 


AUSTRALIA  A NATION 


223 


and  bounds.  It  offers  such  an  extensive  field  for  settle- 
ment, for  farming  and  pastoral  pursuits,  and  for  indus- 
trial and  commercial  enterprise  in  all  their  branches, 
that  its  present  population  of  four  millions  and  a half 
is  certain  to  be  trebled  in  half  the  time  it  has  taken  it 
to  reach  these  figures  ; and,  no  matter  from  what  stand- 
point it  is  regarded,  Australia  is  destined  to  become 
one  of  the  greatest  nations  of  the  earth.  What  stands 
Australia  in  good  stead  on  setting  out  upon  its  new 
career  of  practical  independence  is,  that  a great  spirit  of 
colonial  patriotism  animates  its  people  ; that  its  public 
men  are  able,  broad-minded  and  progressive,  well  quali- 
fied in  every  way  to  assist  in  the  work  of  nation-building 
which  has  been  commenced  so  auspiciously.  There  is  no 
conceivable  limit  to  the  things  which  may  be  expected 
to  result  from  federation.  In  the  first  place,  it  will 
inspire  the  public  men  of  the  Commonwealth  with  far 
loftier  and  nobler  ideals  than  could  have  prevailed  under 
the  confined  limitations  of  provincialism  ; it  will  conduce 
to  a superior  standard  of  public  and  political  life ; it 
will  extend  the  opportunities  of  those  who  have  con- 
spicuous ability  and  laudably  ambitious  aims  ; it  will 
encourage  the  arts  and  sciences  and  place  learning  upon 
a higher  plane  than  it  has  yet  reached  ; it  will  do  what 
has  hitherto  been  too  much  neglected — it  will  hold  out 
an  encouraging  hand  to  inventive  genius,  as  America  has 
done,  with  such  astounding  results ; it  will  exercise  a 
refining  and  elevating  influence  upon  all  sections  of  the 
community  ; it  will  improve  the  social  conditions  under 
which  they  live ; it  will  increase  general  knowledge  and 
the  scope  of  literature  ; in  a word,  it  will  do  all  that  a 
people  imbued  with  the  true  sentiments  and  aspirations 
of  nationality  are  capable  of  accomplishing.  Who  can 
think  of  the  vast  heritage  that  is  theirs  to-day  without 
contemplating  the  great  destiny  that  lies  before  the 
Australian  people  of  our  own  time  and  in  future  genera- 


224 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


tions,  when  its  millions  and  millions  of  acres  will  be 
covered  by  a population  like  that  of  the  United  States  of 
America  at  the  present  moment?  Everybody  knows 
how  small  the  population  of  that  country  was  when  it 
began  to  shape  its  own  destinies  ; and  it  requires  no 
stretch  of  imagination  to  foresee  what  will  be  the 
eventualities  in  that  great  island  Continent  in  the  far 
South.  Let  those  who  indulge  in  dreams  of  Imperial 
Federation  and  of  a great  Confederacy  of  the  Anglo- 
speaking nations  of  the  earth  ponder  over  the  subject 
more  profoundly  than  they  appear  to  do,  and  if  they 
can  convince  themselves  that  Australia  has  not  em- 
barked upon  a course  which  will  ultimately  end  in  its 
political  independence  as  a nation,  the  author  will  find 
great  difficulty  in  reconciling  their  conclusions  with  the 
strong  undercurrent  of  opinion  and  sentiment  which  he 
knows  is  running  out  there,  or  with  the  natural  causes 
which  render  the  supposition  untenable  that  Australia 
will  not  become  a great  and  independent  Democracy. 
And  surely  no  common-sense  man  or  woman  can 
imagine  that  when  the  Commonwealth  arrives  at  that 
epoch  of  maturity  in  its  growth,  any  statesmen  will  be 
found  so  foolhardy  and  obstinate  as  to  refuse  Australia 
what  it  asks.  The  Commonwealth  has  made  a good 
start ; it  has  a great  and  glorious  future  before  it ; a 
future  full  of  promise  and  brightest  hopes,  of  great 
prosperity  and  marvellous  development,  and  from  the 
bottom  of  his  heart  the  author  exclaims. 

Advance,  Australia! 

[For  statistical  information  about  Australia  and  Tasmania, 

sec  Tables  at  end  of  volume.] 


PART  II 

NEW  ZEALAND 


i6 


CHAPTER  XX 


SIZE  OF  NEW  ZEALAND— DISCOVERY— FIRST  ACQUAINT- 
ANCE WITFI  THE  NATIVES — PHYSICAL  FEATURES 

HERE  are  comparatively  few  people  in  Great 


X Britain  who  could  answer  the  question  if  it  were 
put  to  them — How  big  is  New  Zealand  ? The  prevailing 
notion  is  that  it  is  a little  spot,  at  the  extreme  ends  of 
the  earth,  inhabited  for  the  most  part  by  a race  of  semi- 
civilised  natives  and  a few  thousand  whites.  On  both 
points  they  are  quite  in  the  dark,  and  it  will  no  doubt 
surprise  them  to  be  told  that  New  Zealand  is  only  about 
one-seventh  less  in  extent  than  the  area  of  Great  Britain 
and  Ireland,  that  it  has  a population  of  nearly  800,000 
souls,  and  that  of  this  number  the  native  race  consists 
of  less  than  40,000  men,  women,  and  children.  The 
Middle  Island  alone  is  larger  than  the  combined  areas 
of  England  and  Wales  by  214  square  miles.  The  total 
area  of  the  three  islands  which  constitute  New  Zealand 
proper — the  North  Island,  Middle  Island,  and  Stewart's 
Island — is  103,658  square  miles,  and  the  Chatham  and 
other  islands  which  belong  to  it  (exclusive  of  the  Cook 
Islands  recently  annexed)  brings  up  the  total  area  to 
104,471  square  miles. 

It  is  quite  a common  error  to  suppose  that  New 
Zealand  was  discovered  by  Captain  Cook ; but,  as  a 
matter  of  fact,  Abel  Jansen  Tasman,  the  Dutch  navi- 


228 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


gator,  was  the  first  white  man  who  is  known  to  have 
found  that  these  islands  had  an  existence.  This  was 
nearly  one  hundred  and  thirty  years  before  Captain 
Cook  made  his  acquaintance  with  New  Zealand.  Tasman 
sailed  from  Batavia  on  the  14th  of  August,  1642,  and 
discovered  the  island  which  he  named  Van  Diemen's 
Land,  in  honour  of  Anthony  Van  Diemen,  Governor  of 
the  Dutch  possessions  in  the  East  Indies.  Afterwards, 
directing  his  course  eastward,  Tasman,  on  the  13th  of 
December,  1642,  sighted  the  Middle  Island  of  New 
Zealand,  which  he  described  as  a high  mountainous 
country,  as  indeed  it  is  upon  that  part  of  its  coasts.  It 
was  Tasman’s  belief  that  this  high  mountainous  country 
belonged  to  a great  polar  continent,  but  in  this  belief 
Tasman  was  found  to  be  mistaken.  Tasman  sailed 
along  the  coast  and  anchored  in  a bay,  where  an  attack 
was  made  upon  a boat’s  crew,  and  four  of  his  men  were 
killed  by  the  natives.  Tasman  called  it  Murderers’  Bay, 
and  thence  he  steered  along  the  west  coast  of  the  North 
Island,  and  gave  to  the  north-west  extremity  of  it  the 
name  which  it  still  bears — Cape  Maria  Van  Diemen,  in 
honour  of  the  aforesaid  Governor’s  daughter,  for  whom, 
as  the  story  goes,  he  had  formed  a strong  attachment. 
There  is  no  record  which  shows  that  Tasman  ever  set 
his  foot  upon  the  shores  of  New  Zealand,  and  Captain 
Cook  is  therefore  supposed  to  be  the  first  white  man 
who  landed  therein.  This  was  in  1769,  on  the  shores  of 
Poverty  Bay. 

Cook’s  description  of  the  native  inhabitants  of  New 
Zealand,  whom  he  saw  for  the  first  time  in  1769,  is  very 
interesting.  He  says  that  “many  of  the  Indians — as  he 
called  them — wore  pieces  of  greenstone  round  their 
necks  ; that  these  greenstone  pieces  were  transparent 
and  resembled  emeralds.  The  form  of  some  of  their 
faces  was  agreeable.  Their  noses  were  rather  prominent 
than  flat,  and  their  language  nearly  resembled  that  of 


SIZE  OF  NEW  ZEALAND 


229 


Otaheite.  The  women  paint  their  faces  with  a mixture 
of  red  ochre  and  oil  which,  as  they  are  very  plain, 
renders  them  in  appearance  more  homely.  This  kind 
of  daubing,  being  generally  wet  upon  their  cheeks,  was 
easily  transferred  to  those  who  saluted  them,  as  was 
frequently  visible  upon  the  noses  of  our  people.  The 
young  ones,  who  were  coquettes,  wore  a petticoat  under 
which  was  a girdle  made  of  the  blades  of  grass,  strongly 
perfumed,  to  which  was  appended  a small  bunch  of  the 
leaves  of  some  fragrant  plant.  The  faces  of  the  men  were 
not  in  general  painted,  but  they  were  daubed  with  dry 
red  ochre  from  head  to  foot,  their  apparel  not  excepted. 
Though  in  personal  cleanliness  they  were  not  equal  to 
our  friends  at  Otaheite,  yet  in  some  particulars  they 
surpass  them.  Among  the  females  chastity  was  lightly 
esteemed.  They  resorted  frequently  to  the  watering 
places,  where  they  freely  bestowed  every  favour  that 
was  requested.  An  officer  meeting  with  an  elderly 
woman,  accompanied  her  to  her  house,  and,  having 
presented  her  with  some  cloth  and  beads,  a young  girl 
was  singled  out  with  whom  he  was  given  to  understand 
he  might  retire.” 

Cook,  after  rounding  the  North  Cape  and  sailing  to 
Queen  Charlotte's  Sound  (1770),  found  evidences  that 
cannibalism  was  practised  in  New  Zealand,  but  adds 
“ they  never  eat  any  but  their  enemies.  A decisive 
conquest  or  victory  occasions  the  entire  depopulation 
of  the  district,  as  it  is  not  only  the  vanquished  who  are 
killed  that  are  eaten,  but  the  prisoners  likewise  are 
devoured  by  the  victors.”  Even  then  Cook  must  have 
had  the  possibilities  of  British  colonisation  in  his  mind, 
for  he  adds : “ Notwithstanding  the  custom  of  eating  their 
enemies,  the  circumstances  and  temper  of  these  people 
are  in  favour  of  those  who  might  settle  amongst  them 
as  a colony.”  When  Cook  next  visited  New  Zealand,  in 
1773,  his  own  ship,  the  Endeavour^  got  parted  from  the 


230 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


Adventurer^  and  Cook  put  into  Queen  Charlotte’s  Sound. 
After  lying  there  for  some  time  he  set  sail  again  on 
the  very  day  before  the  Adventurer  followed  him  into 
the  same  place.  While  the  latter  was  lying  in  Queen 
Charlotte’s  Sound,  full  evidence  was  afforded  of  the 
existence  of  cannibalism.  One  of  her  boat’s  crews  was 
attacked  by  the  natives,  and  every  member  of  the  crew 
was  killed  and  eaten  by  the  savages.  Cook’s  last  visit 
to  New  Zealand  was  in  1777. 

The  physical  features  of  New  Zealand  are  very  striking. 
The  North  Island  is  generally  hilly  and  in  parts  moun- 
tainous, but  there  are  large  areas  of  plain  and  sloping 
country  eminently  adapted  for  agriculture.  It  has  been 
roughly  estimated  that  in  this  part  of  the  colony  there  are 
13,000,000  acres  of  level  or  undulating  land  fit  for  farming 
purposes,  and  the  area  of  pastoral  land  is  set  down  at 
14,200,000  acres.  Of  course,  these  estimates  include  the 
country  which  is  at  present  covered  with  forest.  The 
North  Island  is  splendidly  watered,  and  several  large 
rivers  empty  into  the  ocean  on  both  sides.  The  principal 
mountains  in  the  North  Island  are  Mount  Egmont,  an 
extinct  volcano,  rising  to  a height  of  8,260  feet ; the 
Tongariro  Mountains,  the  highest  peak  of  which 
(Ngauruhoe)  attains  an  elevation  of  7,515  feet;  and 
Ruapehu,  which  rises  to  an  altitude  of  9,008  feet. 
Eruptions  take  place  at  intervals  in  the  Ruapehu  and 
Tongariro  Mountains,  and  Ngauruhoe  is  constantly 
emitting  steam  from  its  summits.  In  1868  the  last 
discharge  of  lava  took  place  from  Ngauruhoe,  but  its 
three  craters  are  still  active,  steam  and  vapour  issuing 
from  them  with  considerable  noise  and  force.  The 
author  last  saw  these  craters  in  1898,  and  they  were 
then  very  active.  The  North  Island  abounds  with  hot 
springs  and  geysers,  notably  at  Wairakei,  Rotorna, 
Tokaanu,  and  other  localities,  and  the  ground  is  quite 
warm  all  around  the  pools  of  boiling  mud  and  water. 


SIZE  OF  NEW  ZEALAND 


231 


The  author  is  reserving  for  another  volume  a detailed 
description  of  the  physical  features  of  New  Zealand  and 
the  extraordinary  phenomena  to  be  seen  in  various  parts 
of  it,  as  to  set  these  things  forth  in  this  book  would 
unduly  swell  its  proportions. 

Cook  Strait  divides  the  North  from  the  Middle  Island, 
and  the  width  of  this  channel  varies  from  sixteen  to 
ninety  miles.  For  almost  its  entire  length  the  Middle 
Island  is  intersected  by  the  range  of  mountains  known 
as  the  Southern  Alps.  Mount  Cook,  the  highest  peak 
of  these  Alps,  rises  to  a height  of  12,349  feet.  There 
are  other  high  mountains  in  the  Middle  Island,  and, 
generally  speaking,  the  scenery  is  magnificent.  The 
lakes  are  numerous,  and  several  rivers  flow  east  and 
west  of  the  Southern  Alps.  Although  in  the  north, 
part  of  the  Middle  Island,  in  the  west  and  south  the 
country  is  mountainous,  there  are  plains,  downs,  and 
undulating  areas  of  vast  extent,  and  agricultural  and 
pastoral  pursuits  are  carried  on  very  extensively.  It  is 
estimated  that  there  are  about  15,000,000  acres  available 
for  agriculture  in  the  Middle  Island,  and  that  about 
13,000,000  acres  are  suitable  for  pastoral  purposes.  The 
area  of  barren  land  and  mountain  tops  is  estimated  at 
about  9,000,000  acres.  There  are  numerous  lakes  in  the 
Middle  Island,  and  many  rivers  flow  east  and  west  of 
the  dividing  range. 

Stewart's  Island  is  separated  from  the  Middle  Island 
by  Foveaux  Strait ; it  has  a total  area  of  425,390  acres. 
Most  of  the  island  is  rugged  and  clad  with  forest. 

As  New  Zealand  extends  from  north  to  south  for  a 
distance  of  ten  or  eleven  hundred  miles,  the  climate  and 
temperature  vary  accordingly.  It  is  hotter  in  the  north 
than  in  the  south,  but  all  through  the  climate  is  splendid 
and  the  rainfall  satisfactory.  New  Zealand  is  never 
subject  to  the  droughts  that  are  experienced  in  Aus- 
tralia ; but  sometimes  very  destructive  floods  happen  in 


232  AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 

Hawke’s  Bay,  Otago,  and  in  some  of  the  low-lying 
country  in  other  districts.  There  are  no  snakes  in  New 
Zealand.  The  only  venomous  thing  known  to  exist 
there  is  the  Katipo  spider,  and  a bite  from  this  small 
insect  has  occasionally  proved  fatal.  Altogether,  Nature 
has  been  most  bountiful  in  her  gifts  to  New  Zealand — a 
good  climate,  excellent  soil,  abundance  of  water,  timber, 
coal,  gold,  and  other  minerals,  and  that  Colony  possesses 
all  the  essential  elements  to  make  it  one  of  the  most 
prosperous  countries  on  the  face  of  the  earth.  It  is 
capable  of  supporting  a very  large  population,  and  with 
good  government  the  day  will  yet  come  when  it  can  be 
truthfully  described  as  ‘‘  God’s  own  country.” 


CHAPTER  XXI 


IN  OLD  NEW  ZEALAND  DAYS — THE  EARLIEST  MISSION- 
ARIES — THE  BOYD  MASSACRE  — SYSTEMATIC 

SETTLEMENT— THE  TREATY  OF  WAITANGI 

IT  was  many  years  after  Cook’s  first  visit  to  New 
Zealand  that  it  was  regarded  as  a suitable  place  for 
colonising  purposes.  Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  he 
had  written  very  favourable  accounts  of  New  Zealand 
as  a country  to  settle  in,  the  people  of  Great  Britain 
could  not  forget  that  it  was  inhabited  by  a race  of  can- 
nibals, fierce  and  warlike,  who  had  not  only  massacred 
but  cooked  and  eaten  a whole  boat’s  crew  of  the  vessel 
attached  to  his  own  in  the  second  voyage  he  made  into 
southern  latitudes.  Indeed,  the  general  belief  was  that 
all  the  islands  in  the  South  Seas  were  peopled  by  can- 
nibalistic races,  and  therefore  the  thought  of  colonising 
any  of  these  distant  lands  was  not  seriously  entertained 
until  it  was  actually  forced  upon  the  British  Government, 
as  an  outcome  of  the  American  War  of  Independence. 
Other  fields  had  to  be  resorted  to  for  getting  rid  of  its 
criminal  classes,  and  Cook’s  accounts  of  Australia  turned 
the  eyes  of  the  Government  in  that  direction,  with  the 
results  that  have  already  been  described  in  the  first 
portion  of  this  volume.  New  Zealand  eventually 
became  a dependency  of  New  South  Wales,  and 
being  so  connected  the  wonder  is  that  the  Governor 


234 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


never  entertained  the  notion  of  sending  two  or  three 
drafts  of  his  convicts  to  the  Bay  of  Islands.  Close 
trading  relations  were  established  between  New  Zealand 
and  New  South  Wales,  and  the  former  became  a great 
whaling  station.  As  early  as  1803  some  Maoris  visited 
Sydney,  and  in  1804  we  hear  of  an  English  sailor, 
George  Bruce,  marrying  the  daughter  of  a Maori  chief 
(Te  Pahi)  and  settling  at  the  Bay  of  Islands.  Bruce 
was  therefore  the  first  white  man  who  had  gone  to  live 
amongst  the  Maoris. 

After  the  whalers  came  the  missionaries.  A York- 
shire blacksmith,  named  Samuel  Marsden,  became  a 
chaplain  at  the  penal  station  in  New  South  Wales, 
being  located  at  Parramatta,  where  he  was  general 
superintendent  of  convicts.  Mr.  Marsden  conceived 
the  idea  of  sending  a band  of  missionaries  amongst 
the  Maoris,  with  the  view  of  converting  them  to  Chris- 
tianity. The  scheme  was  matured,  and  twenty-five 
persons  left  England  for  New  Zealand  via  Sydney. 
Before  their  arrival  news  was  received  in  Sydney  of 
the  massacre  of  the  captain,  crew,  and  passengers  of  the 
ship  Boyd  at  Whangaroa,  a harbour  some  miles  to  the 
north  of  the  Bay  of  Islands.  The  event  is  thus  recorded 
in  the  author’s  own  book  entitled,  ‘‘  His  Island  Home, 
and  Away  in  the  Far  North”: — “The  massacre  on 
Peach  Island  is  not  the  only  one  of  which  the  harbour 
of  Whangaroa  has  been  the  theatre.  Here  it  was  that 
in  the  year  1809  occurred  the  murder  of  the  crew  and 
passengers  of  the  ship  Boyd.  This  vessel  sailed  from 
Sydney  for  England,  with  the  intention  of  calling  at 
Whangaroa  for  spars.  She  carried  seventy  Europeans 
and  five  New  Zealand  natives,  who  were  shipped  at 
Sydney  to  work  their  passages  to  their  own  country. 
Of  the  latter,  Tara  (or  George,  as  he  was  called  on 
board  ship)  was  the  son  of  a Whangaroa  chief.  During 
the  voyage  he  refused  to  work,  because  he  was  sick,  for 


IN  OLD  NEW  ZEALAND  DAYS 


235 


which  the  captain  stopped  his  food,  and  flogged  him 
twice  at  the  gangway  with  much  severity.  When  the 
vessel  arrived  at  Whangaroa,  and  Tara  and  his  four 
shipmates  went  amongst  their  friends,  they  related  how 
cruelly  Tara  had  been  treated  on  the  passage  from 
Sydney,  and  Tara  bared  his  back  to  afford  ocular  proof 
of  the  sort  of  treatment  he  had  been  subjected  to.  The 
vessel  had  come  there  for  spars,  and  the  natives,  after  a 
council  of  war,  resolved  to  turn  this  circumstance  to 
advantage,  in  order  that  they  might  have  revenge  upon 
those  on  board  the  ship.  One  day,  by  appointment 
with  the  natives,  and  in  total  ignorance  of  the  plot,  the 
captain  and  doctor  of  the  Boyd  were  rowed  ashore  by 
some  of  the  crew.  On  the  captain's  landing,  the  natives 
agreed  to  supply  the  spars,  and  a price  was  fixed  upon. 
In  order  to  satisfy  him  as  to  the  quality  of  the  spars 
they  intended  to  supply,  they  asked  the  captain  to 
follow  them  into  the  bush,  and  they  would  point  them 
out  to  him.  He  assented  to  the  proposition,  and  the 
doctor  accompanied  the  captain.  In  order  not  to  arouse 
the  suspicions  of  the  boat's  crew,  the  natives  allowed 
their  women  to  remain  with  the  sailors  until  they  might 
return.  Having  penetrated  the  bush  a sufficient  dis- 
tance, the  natives  despatched  the  captain  and  doctor, 
and,  returning  to  the  water's  edge  and  taking  the  sailors 
by  surprise,  they  murdered  them  also. 

‘‘  The  assassins  now  proceeded  in  their  canoes  to  where 
the  Boyd  was  lying  at  anchor,  and,  not  knowing  their 
designs,  those  on  the  ship  allowed  them  to  board  her 
without  opposition.  Once  there,  they  resumed  their 
revengeful  work,  and  only  four  souls  amongst  the  crew 
and  passengers  escaped  this  sanguinary  slaughter. 
Having  no  more  lives  to  take,  the  natives  at  once  set 
to  work  to  pillage  the  ship,  and  there  are  natives  still 
alive  who  can  tell  you  everything  about  it ; they  were 
either  youths  at  the  time,  and  are  living  witnesses  of 


236 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


what  happened,  or  they  have  been  told  of  what  occurred 
by  those  who  took  an  active  part  in  the  affair.  Before 
commencing  to  pillage  the  ship,  lines  were  stretched 
across  the  deck  from  the  starboard  to  the  port  side,  and 
whatever  was  found  in  each  partition  from  the  deck  to 
the  bottom  of  the  ship  was  to  belong  to  the  respective 
chiefs.  In  their  ignorance  many  of  the  natives  seized 
bars  of  brown  soap  and  commenced  eating  them  in  the 
most  ravenous  manner  ; but  they  soon  discovered  its  dis- 
tasteful qualities  and  threw  the  soap  away,  frightened 
out  of  their  wits  at  the  amount  of  froth  which  the  eating 
of  the  soap  had  produced.  That  circumstance  is 
thoroughly  well  remembered ; but  such  of  them  as  are 
living  would  sooner  have  you  knock  them  down  than 
suspect  them  of  having  taken  part  in  the  massacre  or  in 
the  feast  on  shore.  They  rummaged  the  ship  from  stem 
to  stern,  and  some  of  them  became  intoxicated.  Hap- 
pening to  go  into  the  magazine,  they  were  experi- 
mentalising with  the  flint  guns,  when  a spark  got 
amongst  the  powder,  and  the  ship  and  all  the  natives 
who  remained  on  board  were  blown  up.  It  is  believed 
that  a mere  handful  of  those  who  had  assisted  in  the 
massacre  escaped,  and  these  were  on  shore  at  the  time, 
participating  in  the  feast  which  the  women  had  prepared 
with  the  bodies  of  those  who  had  fallen  there  in  the 
morning.  What  remained  of  the  Boyd  drifted  further 
up  the  harbour,  and  came  aground  on  a mud  flat. 
When  I visited  this  part  of  the  world  in  the  beginning  of 
the  present  year  (1879),  the  remains  of  the  Boyd  were  still 
to  be  seen  at  low  water,  and  by  rolling  your  trousers  up 
as  far  as  the  knees  you  could  stand  on  the  ribs  of  the 
ill-fated  vessel.  Mr.  Ratcliffe,  a most  courteous  and 
obliging  gentleman,  whom  it  was  our  good  fortune 
to  meet  at  Whangaroa,  once  ventured  to  place  a flag  on 
the  hull  of  the  ship,  in  order  to  indicate  where  she  lay 
to  strangers  visiting  the  harbour,  but  an  aged  chief  the 


IN  OLD  NEW  ZEALAND  DAYS 


237 


next  day  pulled  off  to  the  spot  and  tore  the  flag  down. 
Then  he  went  to  Mr.  Ratcliffe  and  begged  of  him  not  to 
re-erect  it,  because  the  natives  had  no  desire  to  have 
perpetuated  the  recollection  of  an  event  which  occurred 
in  bygone  days,  when  the  hearts  of  the  Maoris  were 
dark.  This  is  an  expression  commonly  used  by  the 
native  people  when  they  wish  to  prove  their  repentance 
for  acts  committed  at  a time  when  civilisation  had  not 
reached  them,  and  when  their  hearts  were  guided  in 
accordance  with  their  savage  notions  of  revenge  and  dis- 
regard of  human  life.  Mr.  Ratcliffe  has  respected  the 
old  chiefs  feelings,  and  the  curiously  inclined  will  have 
to  find  out  the  spot  where  the  hull  of  the  Boyd  now  lies 
by  making  personal  inquiries  on  the  subject.  Several 
articles  which  belonged  to  the  vessel  have  been  dis- 
covered at  various  times,  and  during  a pleasant  hour  or 
two  which  I spent  at  Mr.  Ratcliffe's  house,  he  showed 
me  a silver  spoon,  shell  pattern,  with  the  word  ‘ Boyd  ’ 
engraved  upon  it.  He  assured  me  that  he  dug  it  up 
himself  three  or  four  feet  below  the  surface,  and  there  is 
not  the  slightest  doubt  that  it  was  a portion  of  the 
plunder  which  the  natives  succeeded  in  getting  ashore 
before  the  explosion  took  place.  It  seemed  but  an  act 
of  retributive  justice  that  most  of  those  who  had  cruelly 
put  to  death  so  many  innocent  persons  in  the  forenoon 
should  in  the  afternoon  of  the  very  same  day  be  them- 
selves blown  to  atoms.  The  four  Europeans  who 
escaped  death  when  the  vessel  was  boarded  were  a 
woman,  two  children,  and  a cabin-boy.  The  latter  was 
saved  by  Tara  (the  cause  of  the  massacre)  in  gratitude 
for  a trifling  kindness.  The  four  survivors  were  rescued 
subsequently  from  the  natives  by  Te  Pahi  and  Mr. 
Berry,  the  supercargo  of  the  ship,  who  was  then  at  the 
Bay  of  Islands.” 

This  dreadful  massacre  was  of  so  terrorising  a nature 
that  it  prevented  the  twenty-five  persons  who  had  sailed 


238 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


from  England  continuing  their  voyage  to  New  Zealand, 
and  it  was  not  until  five  years  later  that  missionary 
enterprise  began  in  that  country.  In  1814  Mr.  Marsden, 
accompanied  by  Messrs.  Kendall,  Hall,  and  King,  their 
wives  and  several  mechanics,  with  some  sheep  and 
cattle,  embarked  at  Sydney  for  New  Zealand  in  a brig 
manned  by  convicts.  The  missionaries  were  well 
received  by  the  natives,  from  whom  they  purchased 
two  hundred  acres  of  land  on  which  to  form  a mission 
station,  the  price  paid  being  twelve  axes. 

It  required  no  small  amount  of  courage  to  go  amongst 
the  Maoris  at  this  first  period  of  missionary  enterprise  ; 
but  Mr.  Marsden  and  his  companions  soon  established 
the  most  friendly  relations  between  themselves  and  the 
native  tribes.  They  had  a good  deal  to  contend  against 
from  the  bad  examples  which  were  set  the  natives  by 
the  rough  sailors  who  frequented  the  Bay  of  Islands  in 
those  days.  They  introduced  drink  amongst  the  natives, 
and  contaminated  them  in  various  ways.  Some  of  these 
runaway  sailors  married  Maori  wives,  and  not  only 
adopted  Maori  habits  and  customs  themselves,  but 
induced  the  natives  to  adopt  all  the  vices  of  civilisation 
they  carried  with  them  amongst  the  tribes.  These  were 
the  worst  influences  which  the  missionaries  had  to 
contend  with  in  the  early  period  of  their  mission  to  New 
Zealand,  and  matters  did  not  improve  much  for  many 
years.  The  missionaries  secured  a good  many  converts 
to  Christianity,  however,  and  succeeded  to  a great  extent 
in  checking  tribal  wars  and  cannibalism.  The  mission- 
aries acted  as  intermediaries  between  traders  and  the 
natives,  and  even  in  the  sale  of  their  land,  and  one  of 
these  latter  transactions  had  a singular  development  in 
after-times.  In  1822,  Baron  de  Thierry  bought  through 
Mr.  Kendall  40,000  acres  of  land  on  the  Hokianga  for 
thirty-six  axes.  In  1835  Baron  de  Thierry  claimed  to 
have  purchased  for  these  thirty-six  axes  all  the  territory 


IN  OLD  NEW  ZEALAND  DAYS 


239 


north  of  Auckland,  and  informed  the  British  Resident  of 
his  intention  to  establish  there  in  his  own  person  inde- 
pendent sovereignty.  He  accordingly  issued  a pro- 
clamation signed  ‘‘  Charles  de  Thierry,  Sovereign  Chief 
of  New  Zealand  and  King  of  Muhuhewa.”  He  landed 
in  his  dominions  with  ninety-three  men  from  Sydney, 
unfurled  a silken  banner,  ordered  his  subjects  to  back 
out  of  his  presence,  and  offered  to  create  the  captain  of 
the  ship  which  conveyed  him  to  his  kingdom  an  Admiral. 
Funds  running  short,  however,  his  subjects  deserted  him. 
The  British  Resident  refused  to  recognise  his  claim  to 
the  land,  and  Baron  de  Thierry  afterwards  retired 
to  Auckland,  where  he  lived  for  the  remainder  of  his  life. 

This  was  only  one  of  many  strange  happenings 
associated  with  the  early  colonisation  of  New  Zealand. 
As  soon  as  it  was  found  that  people  could  trust  their  lives 
amongst  the  native  New  Zealanders,  a good  number  of 
adventurous  spirits  found  their  way  to  New  Zealand 
from  New  South  Wales,  and  the  practice  became  quite 
common  for  Europeans  to  marry  Maori  women,  and  for 
others  to  cohabit  with  them  without  going  through  that 
ceremony.  Once  they  went  amongst  the  Maoris,  they 
led  free,  easy,  and  idle  lives,  and  never  afterwards 
thought  of  returning  to  the  civilised  conditions  of  life. 
They  became  what  were  afterwards  known  as  Pakeha- 
Maoris,  and  exercised  an  amount  of  influence  over  the 
Maori  people  which  was  anything  but  conducive  to 
the  true  interests  of  the  latter.  Rum  indulgence  was 
one  of  the  worst  habits  to  which  the  natives  became 
addicted,  and  gambling  was  the  next  vice  which  seized 
upon  them.  They  became  more  and  more  demoralised 
by  contact  with  these  characterless  adventurers,  and 
were  taken  advantage  of  in  every  way.  Large  tracts  of 
their  lands  were  filched  from  them  for  mere  trifles  ; and 
they  were  imposed  upon  right  and  left.  A big  trade 
was  done  with  them  in  liquor ; they  could  obtain  it 


240 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


when  and  wherever  they  liked,  and  the  desire  for  drink 
grew  upon  them  just  as  it  is  known  to  do  upon  coloured 
races  all  the  world  over.  This  was  long  before  grog- 
shops were  known  in  New  Zealand,  and  the  first  of 
them  was  not  opened  until  1830,  by  a man  named 
Benjamin  Turner. 

Five  years  previously  an  attempt  was  made  to 
colonise  New  Zealand.  In  1825  a company  was  formed 
in  London  with  that  object,  and  an  expedition  was  sent 
out  under  the  command  of  Captain  Herd,  who  bought 
two  islands  in  the  Hauraki  Gulf  and  a strip  of  land  at 
Hokianga,  which  is  also  known  as  Herd’s  Point.  Owing 
to  the  savage  character  of  the  inhabitants,  and  their 
opposition  to  the  encroachment  of  the  white  race,  this 
first  attempt  at  colonisation  was  abandoned.  The  Bay 
of  Islands  had  in  the  meantime  been  made  a whaling 
station,  and  as  many  as  forty  whaling  vessels  used  to 
rendezvous  there  at  certain  periods.  A settlement  was 
therefore  formed  at  Kororareka  for  trading  purposes. 
The  Governor  of  New  South  Wales  appointed  Mr. 
Busby  as  British  Resident  in  1833,  some  sort  of  law 
and  order  being  established,  the  idea  of  colonising  New 
Zealand  was  revived  in  London.  In  1838  the  New 
Zealand  Company  was  formed  to  establish  settlement 
upon  systematic  principles.  The  moving  spirit  of  this 
organisation  was  Mr.  Edward  Gibbon  Wakefield.  A 
preliminary  expedition  was  despatched  from  England 
in  1839,  under  the  command  of  Colonel  William  Wake- 
field. This  expedition  reached  New  Zealand  in  the 
following  August ; and,  having  purchased  land  from 
the  natives.  Colonel  Wakefield  selected  the  shore  of 
Port  Nicholson  (Poneke)  as  the  site  of  the  first  settle- 
ment. The  first  body  of  emigrants  arrived  on  January 
22,  1840,  and  founded  the  town  of  Wellington,  which 
was  made  the  capital  of  the  colony  more  than  twenty 
years  afterwards.  On  January  29,  1840,  Captain 


IN  OLD  NEW  ZEALAND  DAYS 


241 


Hobson,  R.N.,  arrived  at  the  Bay  of  Islands,  empowered 
to  proclaim  the  sovereignty  of  the  Queen  over  New 
Zealand  and  to  assume  the  government  thereof. 

Captain  Hobson  brought  a treaty  with  him,  which 
was  as  follows  : — After  reciting  that  Her  Majesty  Queen 
Victoria,  regarding  with  her  Royal  favour  the  native 
tribes  and  chiefs  of  New  Zealand,  and  anxious  to 
protect  their  just  rights  and  property,  and  to  secure  to 
them  the  enjoyment  of  peace  and  good  order,  has 
deemed  it  necessary  in  consequence  of  the  great 
number  of  Her  Majesty’s  subjects  who  have  already 
settled  in  New  Zealand  and  the  rapid  extension  of 
emigration  both  from  Europe  and  Australia  which  is 
still  in  progress,”  &c. 

Article  the  First, 

“ The  Chiefs  of  the  Confederation  of  the  united 
tribes  of  New  Zealand  and  the  separate  and  in- 
dependent Chiefs  who  have  not  become  members  of 
the  Confederation,  cede  to  Her  Majesty  the  Queen 
of  England  absolutely  and  without  reservation  all  the 
rights  and  powers  of  Sovereignty  which  the  said 
Confederation  or  individual  Chiefs  respectively  exercise 
or  possess,  or  may  be  supposed  to  exercise  or  possess, 
over  their  respective  territories,  as  the  sole  Sovereign 
thereof. 


'‘''Article  the  Second, 

Her  Majesty  the  Queen  of  England  confirms  and 
guarantees  to  the  Chiefs  and  tribes  of  New  Zealand  and 
to  the  respective  families  and  individuals  thereof  the 
full,  exclusive  and  undisturbed  possession  of  their  lands 
and  estates,  forests,  fisheries,  and  other  properties  which 
they  may  collectively  or  individually  possess  so  long  as 
it  is  their  wish  and  desire  to  retain  the  same  in  their 
possession ; but  the  Chiefs  of  the  united  tribes  and  the 

17 


242 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


individual  Chiefs  yield  to  Her  Majesty  the  exclusive 
right  of  pre-emption  over  such  lands  as  the  proprietors 
thereof  may  be  disposed  to  alienate  at  such  price  as 
may  be  agreed  upon  between  the  respective  proprietors 
and  persons  appointed  by  Her  Majesty  to  treat  with 
them  in  that  behalf. 

Article  the  Third, 

In  consideration  thereof  Her  Majesty  the  Queen  of 
England  extends  to  the  natives  of  New  Zealand  her 
Royal  protection,  and  imparts  to  them  all  the  rights 
and  privileges  of  British  subjects. 

“W.  Hobson, 

“ Lieut-Governor.” 

Then  there  is  a declaration  that,  having  been  made 
fully  to  understand  the  provisions  of  the  Treaty,  the 
signatories  enter  into  the  same  in  the  full  spirit  and 
meaning  thereof 

Such  was  the  Treaty  of  Waitangi,  about  which  so 
much  has  been  said  and  written,  and  which  has  been 
the  cause  of  so  much  conflict  from  time  to  time  between 
the  natives  and  the  Colonial  Government.  Readers  will 
bear  its  terms  in  mind  when  later  events  come  to  be 
dealt  with. 

The  first  meetings  at  which  this  treaty  was  presented 
to  the  northern  chiefs  for  their  approval  and  adoption 
were  held  at  Mr.  Busby’s  station,  at  Waitangi,  on  the  5th 
and  6th  of  February,  1840. 

In  his  report  to  Sir  George  Gibbs  (Governor  of  New 
South  Wales),  Lieut.-Governor  Hobson  stated  that 
the  Chiefs  seated  themselves  upon  the  ground  in  the 
centre  of  the  tent,  leaving  a space  around  them  for  the 
liuropcans.  Lieut.-Governor  Hobson  explained  the 
object  of  the  meeting,  and  assured  them  in  the  most 
fervent  manner  that  they  might  rely  implicitly  on  the 


IN  OLD  NEW  ZEALAND  DAYS 


243 


good  faith  of  Her  Majesty’s  Government  in  the 
transaction. 

Mr.  H.  Williams,  of  the  Church  Missionary  Society, 
acted  as  interpreter. 

“Twenty  or  thirty  chiefs  addressed  the  meeting,  five 
or  six  of  whom  opposed  me  with  great  violence,  and  at 
one  period  with  such  effect  and  so  cleverly  that  I began 
to  apprehend  an  unfavourable  impression  would  be 
produced.  At  this  crisis  the  Hokianga  Chiefs  under 
Nene  and  Patuone  made  their  appearance,  and  nothing 
could  have  been  more  seasonable.  It  was  evident  from 
the  nature  of  the  position  that  some  underhand  influence 
had  been  at  work.  The  Chiefs  Rewa  and  Ihakara,  who 
are  followers  of  the  Catholic  Bishop,  were  the  principal 
opposers,  and  the  arguments  were  such  as  convinced  me 
they  had  been  prompted.  Rewa,  while  addressing  me, 
turned  to  the  chiefs  and  said  : ‘ Send  the  man  away  ; 
do  not  sign  the  paper  ; if  you  do,  you  will  be  reduced 
to  the  condition  of  slaves  and  be  obliged  to  break  stones 
for  the  roads.  Your  land  will  be  taken  from  you,  and 
your  dignity  of  chiefs  will  be  destroyed.’  ” 

Rewa  was  a true  prophet. 

Lieut.-Governor  Hobson  continues : “ At  the  first 
pause  Nene  came  forward  and  spoke  with  a degree 
of  natural  eloquence  that  surprised  all  the  Europeans, 
and  evidently  turned  aside  the  temporary  feeling  that 
had  been  created.  He  first  addressed  himself  to  his 
own  countrymen,  desiring  them  to  reflect  on  their  own 
condition,  to  recollect  how  much  the  character  of  New 
Zealand  had  been  exalted  by  their  intercourse  with 
Europeans,  and  how  impossible  it  was  for  them  to 
govern  themselves  without  frequent  wars  and  bloodshed, 
and  he  concluded  his  harangue  by  strenuously  advising 
them  to  receive  us  and  to  place  confidence  in  our 
promises.  He  then  turned  to  me  and  said  : ‘ You  must 
be  our  father,  you  must  not  allow  us  to  become  slaves ; 


244  AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 

you  must  preserve  our  customs,  and  never  permit  our 
lands  to  be  wrested  from  us/ 

The  Treaty  was  afterwards  signed  by  those  present 
on  February  6th,  and  trifling  articles  were  given  to 
the  chiefs. 

Agents  were  sent  to  other  parts  of  New  Zealand  to 
obtain  signatures,  and  in  less  than  six  months  the  Treaty 
bore  512  names  or  marks  of  those  agreeing  to  sign. 
(See  records  in  British  Museum.) 

New  Zealand  was  proclaimed  a separate  Colony  on 
the  3rd  of  May,  1841.  The  seat  of  Government  had 
been  previously  established  at  Auckland,  where  a 
settlement  had  been  formed. 

The  New  Zealand  Company  decided  to  form  another 
settlement  named  Nelson,  and  about  the  same  time  a 
number  of  pioneers  arrived  in  Taranaki  under  the 
auspices  of  the  New  Plymouth  Company,  a colonising 
company  which  had  been  formed  in  England,  and  which 
had  purchased  50,000  acres  of  land  from  the  New 
Zealand  Company.  In  1848  Otago  was  settled  by 
persons  belonging  to  or  in  sympathy  with  the  Free 
Church  of  Scotland.  The  Canterbury  Association  was 
formed,  the  intention  of  the  promoters  being  to  establish 
a settlement  complete  in  itself  and  composed  entirely  of 
members  of  the  then  United  Churches  of  England  and 
Ireland.  The  first  emigrant  ship  despatched  by  the 
Canterbury  Association  arrived  at  Port  Cooper 
(Lyttelton)  on  December  16,  1850. 

Of  course,  the  idea  of  founding  a purely  Church  of 
England  settlement  in  Canterbury  was  soon  exploded. 
People  of  all  creeds  and  classes  found  their  way  to 
Canterbury  in  due  course,  and  the  population  became 
just  as  mixed  there  as  in  the  adjoining  Free  Church  of 
Scotland  settlement  in  Otago.  The  fact  is  mentioned 
merely  to  show  the  absurdity  of  organising  schemes  of 
colonisation  upon  exclusively  religious  principles  which 


IN  OLD  NEW  ZEALAND  DAYS  245 

prescribe  that  members  of  one  particular  Church  only 
shall  participate  in  the  advantages  of  settlement  in  a 
new  country. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  settlement  of  New  Zealand 
was  first  begun  from  New  South  Wales  upon  no 
systematic  basis,  and  that  the  settlement  from  Great 
Britain  which  followed  later  on  was  due  mainly  to  the 
initiative  of  Mr.  Gibbon  Wakefield. 


CHAPTER  XXII 

MAORI  WARS — THE  LAND  QUESTION  AT  THE  BOTTOM 
OF  THEM  — BROKEN  PROMISES  — THE  SOUTH 
ISLAND  NATIVES  CLAIM  THREE  MILLIONS 
STERLING 

IN  early  times  the  Maoris,  like  all  other  savage  races, 
were  easily  imposed  upon.  They  were  fond  of 
anything  that  sparkled  or  was  high-coloured.  The 
brighter  a piece  of  cloth  or  calico  was  the  better  they 
liked  it,  and  beads  were  especially  attractive  to  them. 
Knives  and  axes  they  highly  prized,  and  an  old  blunder- 
buss, gun  or  pistol  of  any  kind  they  always  set  a high 
value  on.  In  fact,  they  were  like  children  in  these 
matters,  and  the  various  trifles  which  were  brought 
under  their  notice  by  traders  and  others  took  their 
fancy  amazingly.  The  land  seemed  as  nothing  com- 
pared with  the  wares  the  pakeha  was  possessed  of ; and 
just  as  the  Port  Phillip  blacks  disposed  of  600,000  acres 
of  land  for  a few  axes,  looking-glasses  and  other  articles 
of  equal  value,  so  the  Maoris  were  quite  ready  to  part 
with  strips  of  their  possessions  for  an  equally  paltry 
consideration.  Much  of  their  possessions  they  alienated 
in  this  way  ; but  discovered  their  mistake  when  they 
began  to  realise  the  value  of  things  more  correctly. 
Then  there  arose  amongst  them  an  indisposition  to 
barter  away  their  inheritance  upon  terms  so  one-sided  ; 

2^6 


MAORI  WARS 


247 


they  were  not  so  easily  got  at  by  the  land  sharks  ; they 
became  too  knowing  for  the  unscrupulous  traffickers  in 
the  soil  to  get  round  them  ; but  they  acquired  this  know- 
ledge at  great  cost  to  themselves,  for  immense  areas  had 
slipped  through  their  hands  absolutely  for  nothing  in  the 
shape  of  price. 

So  we  see  that  when  the  Treaty  of  Waitangi  came  to 
be  submitted  to  them  for  acceptance,  some  of  the 
assembled  chiefs  were  not  a little  suspicious  in  regard 
to  it.  Rewa,  for  instance,  warned  his  countrymen  that 
if  they  signed  the  treaty  their  land  would  be  taken  from 
them  and  their  dignity  as  chiefs  would  be  destroyed. 
What  an  intelligent  fellow  Rewa  must  have  been,  and 
how  prophetic  his  words  have  proved ! The  Maori 
people  ought  always  to  venerate  Rewa’s  memory.  Their 
lands  have  been  taken  from  them,  and  their  dignity  as 
chiefs  has  been  destroyed.  A true  prophet  was  Rewa. 

The  origin  of  all  the  wars  that  have  taken  place  in 
New  Zealand  can  be  traced  directly  to  the  question  of 
land.  The  Maoris  saw  that  it  was  slipping  away  from 
them,  and  they  were  driven  into  rebellion,  as  it  was 
called,  because  they  thought  so,  and  wished  to  put  an 
end  to  the  system  of  spoliation  that  had  been  resorted 
to.  The  Treaty  of  Waitangi  expressly  stipulated  that 
the  Queen  of  England  confirmed  and  guaranteed  to  the 
chiefs  and  tribes  of  New  Zealand,  and  to  the  respective 
families  and  individuals  thereof,  the  full,  exclusive,  and 
undisturbed  possession  of  their  lands  and  estates,  forests, 
fisheries  and  other  properties  which  they  might  col- 
lectively or  individually  possess,  so  long  as  it  was  their 
wish  and  desire  to  retain  the  same  in  their  possession. 
All  that  those  signing  the  Treaty  yielded  was  the 
exclusive  right  of  pre-emption  over  such  lands  as  the 
proprietors  thereof  might  be  disposed  to  alienate,  at 
such  price  as  might  be  agreed  upon  between  the 
respective  proprietors  and  persons  appointed  by  Her 


248 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


Majesty  to  treat  with  them  in  that  behalf.  Many  of 
the  most  important  chiefs  in  New  Zealand  did  not  sign 
that  treaty.  Potatau,  at  that  time  the  principal  chief  of 
Waikato,  refused  to  sign  it,  and  Te  Waharoa,  the  great 
warrior  and  chief  of  Ngatihaua,  never  signed  it,  and  large 
numbers  of  the  most  influential  chiefs  in  various  parts  of 
the  country  were  no  parties  to  it.  In  after-years  they  or 
their  descendants  refused  to  recognise  it,  and  counselled 
their  people  not  to  sell  their  land.  What  were  Wiremu 
Tamihana’s  arguments  with  regard  to  the  Treaty  of 
Waitangi?  “ I am  chief  of  Ngatihaua,  which  is  an  indepen- 
dent tribe.  My  father,  Te  Waharoa,  was  chief  before  me. 
Neither  he,  I,  nor  any  of  my  people  signed  this  treaty. 
Therefore  we  are  not  bound  by  it.”  William  Thompson 
was  opposed  to  the  selling  of  the  land,  and  so  also  was 
Wiremu  Kingi.  The  Taranaki  war  arose  from  the 
resistance  of  Wiremu  Kingi  to  the  sale  of  land.  Wiremu 
Kingi  opposed  the  sale  of  the  Waitara  block,  and  the 
persistence  of  the  Government  in  selling  it  brought 
war  about. 

Mr.  J.  E.  Gorst,  M.A.,  in  his  book,  The  Maori  King,” 
published  in  1864,  says  : The  result  of  our  government 
of  the  Maoris,  thus  seen  in  New  Zealand,  was  marvel- 
lously inconsistent  with  the  story  usually  told  in 
England.  It  had  always  been  said  that  the  Maoris 
possessed  remarkable  capacities  for  civilisation ; that 
they  had  been  treated  with  singular  kindness  and 
perfect  justice,  and  were  happy  and  prosperous  under 
British  rule.”  Mr.  Gorst  found  out  for  himself  that  the 
position  of  matters  was  very  different — that  the  Maoris 
wanted  control  of  their  own  affairs,  particularly  with 
regard  to  their  lands.  The  King  movement  was  the 
upshot  of  this  feeling  amongst  the  Maoris  in  the 
Waikato  and  Taranaki,  and  the  Waitara  and  Waikato 
wars  were  the  direct  outcome  of  their  resistance  to  the 
sale  of  their  lands.  They  refused  to  sell  to  the  Govern- 


MAORI  WARS 


249 


ment  under  the  right  of  pre-emption  set  forth  in  a treaty 
which  neither  themselves  nor  their  ancestors  had  been 
parties  to. 

After  representative  and  responsible  government  was 
conferred  upon  New  Zealand,  of  course  the  Colonial 
Government  virtually  took  the  place  of  the  Queen  so 
far  as  the  provisions  of  the  Treaty  of  Waitangi  were 
concerned,  but  laws  were  passed  in  direct  violation  of 
that  treaty.  The  Government  was  always  tinkering 
with  native  land  legislation,  and  there  never  was  any 
fixity  about  it  from  one  year  to  another.  Sometimes 
the  right  of  pre-emption  was  maintained,  then  the  law 
was  altered  and  free  trade  in  native  lands  became  the 
order  of  the  day ; then  it  was  altered  back  to  pre- 
emption ; but  it  mattered  not  under  which  system,  the 
natives  were  always  cheated.  If  the  Government 
exercised  the  right  of  pre-emption,  they  took  blocks 
from  the  natives  at  prices  far  below  their  value  ; and  if 
free  trade  prevailed,  then  the  natives  were  robbed  right 
and  left  by  the  land-shark  class.  The  land  was  secured 
by  these  people  at  ridiculous  prices — not  for  occupation, 
be  it  remembered,  in  most  cases,  but  for  mere  purposes  of 
speculation.  And  what  irritated  the  native  mind  after- 
wards was  to  see  the  land  which  they  had  been  induced 
to  part  with  for  a song  sold  again  by  the  Government 
and  private  individuals  at  prices  which  should  have  been 
paid  to  themselves  in  the  first  instance.  It  is  not  to  be 
wondered  at,  therefore,  that  the  King  movement  was 
promoted  for  the  purpose  of  putting  an  end  to  a system 
which  was  so  insidiously  depriving  them  of  their 
possessions.  That  was  the  attitude  of  the  Waikato 
and  Taranaki  tribes  before  war  ensued.  They  wanted 
home  rule,  and  claimed  that  home  rule  was  assured  to 
them  under  the  Treaty  of  Waitangi  so  far  as  their  land, 
fisheries,  &c.,  were  concerned.  These  wars  might  easily 
have  been  averted ; but  unfortunately  the  circumstances 


250, 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


lend  too  much  colour  to  the  belief  that  the  natives  were 
encouraged  into  rebellion  for  the  confiscations  which 
would  follow.  And  wholesale  these  confiscations  were, 
too,  although  upon  the  West  Coast  considerable  areas 
were  returned  to  the  native  owners  and  are  now  held  in 
trust  for  them  and  their  survivors.  It  was  the  most 
creditable  act  that  was  ever  performed  towards  the 
natives  by  the  Colonial  Government,  and  as  such 
deserves  to  be  recorded.  In  subduing  the  Maoris  who 
fought  for  their  lands  from  time  to  time,  the  Govern- 
ments— Imperial  and  Colonial  alike — were  always  aided 
by  what  were  called  “ friendly Maoris.  That  was 
always  one  of  the  most  reprehensible  features  of  Maori 
warfare — employing  Maoris  to  fight  against  their  own 
flesh  and  blood.  Referring  to  this  subject,  Mark  Twain 
makes  the  following  comment  with  regard  to  one  of  the 
two  monuments  which  he  saw  at  Wanganui : — The 
other  monument  cannot  be  rectified.  Except  with 
dynamite.  It  is  a mistake  all  through,  and  a strangely 
thoughtless  one.  It  is  a monument  erected  by  white 
men  to  Maoris  who  fell  fighting  with  the  whites  and 
against  their  own  people  in  the  Maori  war.  ‘ Sacred  to 
the  memory  of  the  brave  men  who  fell  on  the  14th  of 
May,  1864/  &c.  On  one  side  are  the  names  of  about 
twenty  Maoris.  It  is  not  a fancy  of  mine.  I saw  it.  It 
is  an  object-lesson  to  the  rising  generation.  It  invites 
to  treachery,  disloyalty,  unpatriotism.  Its  lesson  in 
frank  terms  is,  ‘ Desert  your  flag,  slay  your  people,  burn 
their  homes,  shame  your  nationality — we  honour  such.’  ” 
(“  More  Tramps  Abroad,”  p.  221.)  Perhaps  Mr.  Clemens 
is  not  aware  that  Maori  mercenaries  have  always  been 
employed  in  all  the  wars  against  their  own  countrymen, 
beginning  with  Hone  Heke’s  war  in  the  Bay  of  Islands 
in  1845  ; and  if  he  should  ever  visit  Russell  he  will  see 
in  the  churchyard  a monument  there  to  the  memory  of 
Tamati  Waka  Nene,  and  in  the  cemetery  of  Trinity 


MAORI  WARS 


251 


Church,  Devonport,  North  Shore,  another  monument 
erected  to  the  memory  of  Patuone,  Tamati  Waka  Nene's 
elder  brother. 

Tamati  Waka  Nene  was  one  of  the  chiefs  who  fought 
against  his  countrymen  in  the  war  of  1845.  Hone 
Heke  believed  that  the  British  soldiers  (the  redcoats, 
as  he  called  them)  had  been  brought  into  the  country 
to  take  the  land  from  the  natives  and  make  them 
taurekareka  (slaves).  Consequently,  Hone  Heke,  the 
great  Ngapuhi  warrior,  determined  to  drive  the  redcoats 
into  the  sea.  He  surprised  the  soldiers  at  Flagstaff 
Hill,  Kororareka,  at  daylight  on  the  morning  of  the 
nth  of  March,  1845,  cut  down  the  flagstaff  which  had 
been  erected  to  indicate  the  Queen’s  sovereignty  over 
the  land,  and  drove  the  detachment  of  the  96th  regiment 
down  the  hill.  Simultaneously  with  this  movement,  200 
natives,  under  one  of  Hone  Heke’s  fighting  generals 
named  Kawiti,  attacked  Captain  Robertson’s  position 
on  the  hill  domineering  the  Matawai  Pass  at  the  rear 
of  the  mission  house  erected  by  Bishop  Pompallier. 
Seeing  the  soldiers  running  precipitately  down  the 
flagstaff  hill,  Captain  Robertson  spiked  his  gun  and 
likewise  fell  back.  After  some  hard  fighting,  it  was 
decided  by  the  military  authorities  to  evacuate  the 
town,  and  accordingly  the  whole  of  the  soldiers  and 
inhabitants  embarked  on  board  H.M.S.  Hazard^  the 
United  States  corvette  St.  Louis ^ the  whaling  ship 
Matilda^  and  the  schooner  Dolphin.  Hone  Heke  and 
Rawiti  entered  the  town,  and,  one  of  the  houses  catching 
fire,  the  whole  town  was  consumed.  Bishop  Pompallier’s 
mission  house,  the  Anglican  and  Roman  Catholic 
churches,  and  one  or  two  other  buildings  alone  escaping 
destruction.  Thus  began  the  first  Maori  war  in  New 
Zealand,  and  it  owed  its  origin  to  the  belief  amongst 
the  Maoris  that  the  Europeans  intended  to  deprive 
them  of  their  possessions.  The  same  feeling  was  at 


252 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


the  bottom  of  the  Taranaki  and  Waikato  wars.  Wiremu 
Kingi,  Wi  Tamihana,  Potatau  Te  Wherowhero  and  their 
people  were  strongly  opposed  to  the  sale  of  land,  and 
under  the  treaty  of  Waitangi  they  had  a perfect  right 
to  say  that  no  more  land  should  be  sold,  for  the  words 
of  that  treaty  are  : So  long  as  it  is  their  wish  and 
desire  to  retain  the  same  in  their  possession.”  Why 
did  i,6oo  natives  under  Te  Heu  Heu  assemble  at 
Taupo  in  1857?  It  was  to  protest  against  the  sale 
of  land,  and  the  platform  adopted  at  that  meeting  was 
“ Look  to  the  land.”  Therefore,  it  will  be  seen  that  the 
origin  and  object  of  the  King  movement  was  the  reten- 
tion of  their  lands  by  the  natives  and  resistance  to  the 
wholesale  purchases  which  were  being  made  at  prices 
which  were  so  palpably  inadequate.  The  Treaty  of 
Waitangi  had  not,  as  it  was  claimed  it  would  do,  pro- 
tected their  just  rights  and  property  nor  secured  to 
them  the  enjoyment  of  peace  and  order ; for,  as  Mr. 
Gorst  says,  For  years  after  the  treaty  tribal  wars  were 
so  common  that  Tamihana  describes  them  as  ‘a  river 
of  blood  flowing  through  the  land.’  ” On  his  first  visit 
to  the  Waikato  Mr.  Gorst  wrote  : “ In  all  outward  signs 
of  civilisation  the  Maoris  proved  to  be  extremely  back- 
ward ; their  houses,  clothing,  food,  and  way  of  eating 
were  of  the  most  barbarous  description  ; but  in  reason- 
ing, especially  on  political  topics,  in  making  provision 
for  their  own  government  and  for  the  education  of  their 
children,  they  exhibited  unexpected  cleverness  and  good 
sense.”  They  wanted  home  rule : they  desired  the 
management  of  their  own  affairs,  and  Mr.  Gorst  bears 
testimony  to  the  fact  that  they  were  quite  capable  of 
governing  themselves  ; but  the  Government  thought 
differently,  because  the  land  purchase  system  must  go 
on  ; and  because  the  Taranaki  and  Waikato  natives 
objected  to  the  sale  of  their  lands  they  were  driven 
into  rebellion.  That  is  the  plain  English  of  the  matter. 


MAORI  WARS 


253 


and  no  twisting  or  distortion  of  facts,  no  resort  to  the 
usual  subterfuge  that  ‘‘  certain  ignorant  and  ill-informed 
persons  say  so,”  will  get  rid  of  the  truth  which  these 
facts  reveal — that  land-grab  and  confiscation  are  the 
real  explanation  of  the  wars  that  have  taken  place  in 
New  Zealand. 

Mr.  Gorst  says  ‘G.t  was  determined  to  purchase  by 
presents  and  pensions  the  goodwill  of  the  principal 
native  chiefs.”  That  was  always  the  policy  pursued 
by  the  Government,  and  it  is  that  which  accounts  for 
“friendly  natives”  taking  the  field  against  their  own 
countrymen  in  all  the  outbreaks  that  occurred  from 
Hone  Heke’s  time  to  the  end  of  the  Waikato  War,  and 
subsequently  upon  the  east  and  west  coasts  of  the 
North  Island. 

The  poor  South  Island  natives  were  always  incapable 
of  resistance.  The  Wairau  massacre  was  the  only  show 
of  direct  opposition  they  ever  made  to  the  settlement  of 
the  Europeans.  The  South  Island  natives  were  few  in 
number — a comparative  handful.  The  southern  tribes 
had  been  decimated,  nearly  wiped  out  of  existence  by 
the  onslaughts  upon  them  by  powerful  warrior  tribes 
from  the  North  Island,  the  last  of  them  led  by  that 
bloodthirsty  old  savage  Te  Rauperaha,  who  butchered 
the  southern  natives  right  and  left  and  carried  large 
numbers  of  them  away  as  slaves.  Other  North  Island 
chiefs  and  their  tribes  paid  similar  visits  of  conquest 
and  extermination  to  the  South  Island,  and  carried  off 
slaves  to  the  far  north.  That  is  why  so  many  descen- 
dants of  these  slaves,  the  remnant  of  whose  tribes  are 
still  in  the  far  south,  are  to  be  found  now  intermingled 
with  the  Ngapuhi  and  other  tribes  in  the  North  Island, 
and  they  are  still  regarded  as  taurekareka  (slaves),  and 
have  no  tribal  rank  amongst  the  descendants  of  their 
conquerors.  It  was  in  consequence  of  these  periodical 
visitations  from  the  warlike  tribes  of  the  North  Island 


254 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


that  the  native  population  of  the  South  Island  got  so 
much  reduced  that  they  were  never  numerically  strong 
enough  to  resist  the  encroachments  of  the  whites,  and 
as  a consequence  the  appropriation  of  their  lands  was 
an  easy  process.  They  were  bought  from  them,  it  is 
true,  but  at  what  prices  ? The  whole  of  the  Otakou 
block  (Otago)  was  purchased  from  them  for  ^600  or 
£700,  and  the  Murimutu  block  (Southland)  was  also 
alienated  for  an  equally  ridiculous  sum,  with  all  sorts 
of  promises  that  hospitals,  schools,  &c.,  would  be  pro- 
vided specially  for  the  native  people.  Some  years 
afterwards  the  descendants  of  the  chiefs  who  thus 
bartered  away  their  inheritance  realised  the  cruel 
injustice  that  had  been  inflicted  upon  them,  and  at 
the  instigation  of  the  southern  chief  Taiaroa  they  sent 
in  a claim  for  three  millions  sterling.  A Royal  Com- 
mission was  appointed  twenty-two  years  ago  to  inquire 
into  the  case,  and  the  author  happened  to  be  attached 
to  that  Commission.  That  is  how  he  knows  of  the 
injustice  which  was  done  to  the  native  people  by  the 
agents  who  were  sent  amongst  them  by  the  Govern- 
ment to  effect  these  purchases.  The  Commission  took 
evidence  in  Canterbury,  Otago,  Southland,  Wellington, 
Auckland,  and  other  places,  and  it  was  clearly  proved 
that  the  natives  had  been  most  shamefully  imposed 
upon  with  regard  to  their  lands,  and  that  promises 
which  were  made  to  them  at  the  times  of  these 
purchases  were  never  fulfilled.  The  Commission  sent 
in  its  report  with  certain  recommendations,  but  nothing 
came  of  it.  At  last,  after  their  patience  was  exhausted, 
attention  was  called  in  Parliament  to  the  fact  that 
numbers  of  South  Island  natives  were  absolutely  land- 
less, and  after  repeated  applications  Parliament  found 
it  necessary,  as  an  act  of  bare  justice,  to  provide  land 
for  those  natives  who  were  actually  without  a patch 
they  could  call  their  own.  It  is  monstrous  in  face  of 


MAORI  WARS 


255 


these  facts  to  hear  people  in  official  positions  declare 
that  the  natives  of  New  Zealand  have  been  well  treated. 
What  are  the  facts  ? When  the  Europeans  first  came 
amongst  them  the  natives  of  the  North  Island  were 
the  sole  possessors  of  28,459,520  acres  ; those  of  the 
Middle  Island,  37,456,000  acres ; those  of  Stewart's 
Island,  425,390  acres  ; these  areas  added  together  give 
a total  of  66,340,910  acres  originally  possessed  by  the 
native  New  Zealanders.  Of  these  sixty-six  million 
acres,  how  many  do  they  possess  to-day?  Not  long 
ago  it  was  announced  by  the  Premier,  who  apparently 
believed  that  the  record  was  a most  creditable  one  to 
the  Colony,  that  the  Maoris  still  own  five  million  acres. 
Five  million  out  of  nearly  sixty-six  and  a half  million 
acres,  and  the  eyes  of  the  country  picked  ! The  figures 
tell, their  own  story.  But  this  is  not  all.  The  list  is  a 
long  one  of  aged  and  pauperised  natives  whose  circum- 
stances have  forced  them  to  apply  for  State  aid  under 
the  Old  Age  Pensions  Act.  In  this  connection  here  is 
a paragraph  from  the  New  Zealand  Budget  delivered 
in  Committee  of  Supply  on  August  17,  1900 : — ‘‘The 
amount  asked  for  old-age  pensions,  namely,  Z^200,000, 
may  appear  large,  and  more  than  was  anticipated  by 
some.  The  number  of  pensioners  of  the  Maori  race  is  a 
factor  not  contemplated,  and  was  not  ascertainable  at  the 
time  the  Act  was  passed."  What  more  is  required  to 
show  the  wholesale  acquisition  of  Maori  lands  and  the 
impoverished  condition  to  which  too  many  of  them 
have  been  unfortunately  reduced  ? That  they  still 
retain  five  million  acres — less  than  a thirteenth  part 
of  what  was  theirs  not  a century  ago,  and  the  greatest 
part  still  belonging  to  them  when  the  Treaty  of  Wai- 
tangi  was  submitted  to  them  by  Lieutenant-Governor 
Hobson  in  1840 — is  a poor  thing  to  boast  of,  or  to 
advance  as  an  argument  that  the  Maori  race  has  been 
fairly  and  justly  dealt  with.  The  facts  are  only  too 


256 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


abundant  to  prove  that  the  contrary  has  been  the  case. 
It  is  needless  for  the  Maori  people  to  talk,  as  they  now 
do,  of  sending  delegations  to  London  to  lay  their  case 
before  the  Imperial  Government  with  a view  to  obtain- 
ing redress  for  past  wrongs.  They  will  be  told  by  the 
Imperial  Government  that  they  have  nothing  to  do 
with  the  matter,  and  that  they  must  look  to  the  Colonial 
authorities  for  a redress  of  grievances,  as  the  administra- 
tion of  the  internal  affairs  of  the  Colony  had  been  left 
entirely  to  them  under  the  Act  which  conferred  repre- 
sentative and  responsible  government  upon  the  Colony. 
Therefore,  these  delegations  to  London  would  be  a 
mere  waste  of  time  and  money,  and  the  Maoris  might 
as  well  abandon  the  idea  once  and  for  all. 


CHAPTER  XXIIi 


THE  MAORIS — THEIR  CHARACTER  AND  DISPOSITION — 
CANNIBALISM  AND  TRIBAL  WARS 

HE  Maoris  are  physically  a fine  race  of  people. 


X Asa  rule,  the  men  are  much  above  the  average 
height  of  the  whites  who  have  settled  amongst  them, 
and  generally  speaking  they  may  be  described  as  a 
tall  race,  broad-shouldered,  stout-limbed  and  muscular. 
In  colour  they  are  a dark  brown,  and  their  features  are 
large  and  usually  regular,  but  of  various  types.  You 
may  see  a face  which  resembles  in  its  general  outlines 
that  of  the  best  specimen  of  an  American  Indian  ; some 
of  them  are  almost  Jewish  in  appearance,  and  occasion- 
ally one  sees  a face  of  the  Grecian  cast.  But  as  a whole 
they  are  what  can  be  described  as  a fine-looking  race  of 
men.  They  have  full  dark-brown  eyes,  and  their  heads 
are  covered  with  a thick  growth  of  dark  hair,  in  some 
instances  straight,  and  curled  in  others.  The  expression 
of  their  countenances  is  open  and  well-disposed,  and 
one  can  see  at  once  that  they  are  very  intelligent — a 
phrenologist  would  say  intellectual.  They  speak  their 
language  with  great  volubility,  and  when  the  occasion 
calls  upon  them  to  harangue  a meeting  of  their  country- 
men, they  are  forcible,  argumentative,  and  witty.  They 
are  born  orators,  every  one  of  them,  and  the  similes 
they  apply  are  those  that  might  be  expected  from 
people  who  have  been  civilised  for  ages.  Biblical 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


quotation  is  a strong  point  with  the  Maori  orator,  and 
he  knows  exactly  when  to  introduce  it  to  illustrate  the 
fitness  of  its  application  to  the  tenor  of  his  discourse. 
He  can  be  serious  and  pathetic,  wildly  declamatory  or 
humorous  just  as  the  whim  seizes  him.  Language 
never  fails  him  to  give  utterance  to  his  thoughts,  and 
there  is  always  a good  deal  of  downright  common-sense 
in  what  he  says.  That  is  why  the  speeches  of  the 
Maori  members  of  Parliament  compare  so  favourably 
with  those  of  European  members  upon  any  subject  that 
may  be  discussed.  Oratory  is  quite  characteristic  of 
them.  They  are  a good-tempered  people,  and  when 
they  are  amongst  themselves  their  peals  of  laughter 
show  that  they  derive  a good  deal  of  enjoyment  from 
mutual  intercourse  and  conversation.  They  like  com- 
panionship, and  are  never  lost  for  agreeable  company, 
for  their  whares  are  all  close  together  in  the  settlements 
where  they  reside. 

The  women,  like  the  men,  are  strongly  built,  and 
many  of  them  very  tall.  They  have  good  and  pleasing 
features,  lovely  soft,  dark-brown  eyes,  and  fine  heads  of 
dark,  glossy  hair.  Their  figures  they  don’t  pay  much 
attention  to ; their  garments  are  loosely  thrown  about 
them,  and  they  therefore  present  an  appearance  rather 
slovenly.  They  marry  young  and  rear  a numerous 
progeny  in  many  cases.  Generally  speaking,  Maori 
women  take  life  easy,  like  the  men.  They  are  not  an 
active  race  of  people  ; in  fact,  they  are  rather  inclined  to 
indolence ; in  their  settlements  they  seldom  cultivate 
the  soil  further  than  is  necessary  for  their  own  subsistence 
in  the  way  of  kumaras,  maize,  water-melons,  rock- 
melons,  and  soon,  and  fish  constitutes  a large  portion  of 
their  natural  food.  Any  surplus  they  can  readily  dis- 
pose of  in  the  adjoining  settlements.  Of  course,  in 
localities  near  European  townships  they  till  their  land 
more  extensively  and  raise  all  kinds  of  crops;  and  there 


THE  MAORIS 


^59 


are  places  where  they  own  flocks  of  sheep  and  cattle 
and  carry  on  farming  operations  besides,  in  accordance 
with  the  most  improved  European  methods.  In  the 
remote  portions  of  the  country  they  live  altogether  in 
their  old  Maori  style,  in  small  whares ; but  there  are 
well-to-do  chiefs  and  others  who  have  erected  houses 
for  themselves  and  assimilate  themselves  to  European 
customs  as  much  as  possible.  But  so  far  as  the  great 
bulk  of  the  Maori  population  is  concerned,  there  is  little 
difference  between  their  mode  of  life  and  what  it  was 
in  early  times. 

They  are  an  affectionate  people,  and  parents  are 
fond  of  their  offspring  and  look  carefully  after  them. 
The  Maori  woman  is  not  a slave  to  her  husband  in  the 
sense  that  an  Australian  gin  ” is  to  hers.  She  has  all 
the  liberty  she  wants,  and  the  instances  are  exceptional 
where  she  is  not  treated  well  and  kindly  by  her  husband. 
They  have  a great  respect  and  regard  for  the  aged 
amongst  them,  and  when  death  removes  any  of  their 
relatives,  their  grief  is  poignant,  though  demonstrative. 
An  old-fashioned  Irish  wake  is  a mere  circumstance 
compared  with  a Maori  tangi.  The  tribe  or  hapu 
assembles  in  great  numbers  : the  wailing  is  general  for 
several  days,  and  the  feasting  goes  on  for  a week  or 
more.  If  the  departed  happens  to  be  a chief,  the  con- 
course of  mourners  is  swelled  to  enormous  proportions 
by  tribes  from  great  distances,  and  the  amount  of 
victuals  consumed  is  prodigious,  dried  shark  being  one 
of  the  delicacies  which  is  never  absent  on  these  occasions. 
It  scents  the  whole  neighbourhood  with  a fragrance 
peculiarly  its  own,  and  on  that  account  is  not  appre- 
ciated by  European  visitors  as  jugged  hare  might  be 
in  a similar  stage  of  putrefaction.  But  it  is  a Maori 
delicacy  nevertheless,  and  is  consumed  in  large  quantities 
at  these  post-mortem  ceremonies,  which  are  a strange 
admixture  of  grief  and  gluttony. 


26o 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


When  mothers  move  about  from  place  to  place  they 
carry  their  youngest  children  on  their  backs,  securely 
fixed  there  by  the  skirt  being  drawn  across  the  shoulders 
of  the  mother  and  fastened  in  front ; and  where  many 
of  these  mothers  are  together  it  is  quite  a picture  to  see 
all  these  little  dark-eyed  brownskins  peering  over  their 
mothers’  shoulders  as  they  walk  along. 

The  Maori  women  are  very  fond  of  gay  colours,  and 
when  they  go  into  a township  the  shop  which  has  the 
brightest  display  of  clothing  and  other  articles  is  the 
one  which  is  certain  to  attract  them.  They  spend 
their  money  freely,  but  generally  try  to  beat  the  prices 
down.  That  is  one  of  the  lessons  of  civilisation  they 
have  derived  from  the  pakeha,  and  when  their  own  turn 
comes  they  try  it  on  too.  Since  native  apparel  in  the 
shape  of  feather  and  flax-woven  mats  has  been  dispensed 
with,  the  women  attire  themselves  in  European  dress  ; but 
they  have  a good  deal  yet  to  learn,  as  may  be  supposed, 
before  they  can  set  themselves  off  to  advantage  in 
styles  to  which  they  have  not  been  accustomed. 

Many  of  the  half-caste  girls  and  women,  of  whom 
there  are  a good  number  in  the  Colony,  are  really  hand- 
some, and  stylish,  too,  if  they  have  mixed  much  amongst 
Europeans.  As  they  advance  in  years,  however,  they 
lose  their  good  looks,  and  accumulate  flesh  just  as  full- 
bloods  do,  and  longevity  is  not  a characteristic  of  the 
half-caste  race — generally  speaking  they  die  before 
they  attain  advanced  womanhood,  and  lung  trouble 
assails  a large  proportion  of  them.  It  has  been  observed 
too,  that  where  half-castes  marry  each  other,  the  dura- 
tion of  their  children’s  lives  is  shorter  still. 

In  earlier  times,  Europeans  in  good  stations  of  life 
have  married  full-blooded  Maori  women,  and  the  latter 
have  reared  numerous  children,  and  been  surrounded 
with  every  comfort  that  good  homes  could  provide 
them  with.  Some  day  these  Maori  women  take  it  into 


THE  MAORIS 


261 


their  heads  to  return  to  their  old  habits  and  customs, 
and  they  have  been  known  to  go  back  to  their  tribes 
after  long  years  of  absence.  The  author  is  personally 
acquainted  with  instances  of  this  kind,  and  nothing 
could  induce  these  women  to  return  to  civilised  modes 
of  life.  There  is  only  one  case  he  knows  of  where  a 
European  woman  has  married  a Maori,  and  in  that 
instance  the  experiment  was  not  encouraging. 

The  Maoris  are  big-hearted  and  hospitable  to  those 
for  whom  they  form  a liking,  but  cold  and  suspicious 
towards  those  whom  they  distrust.  But  once  you  gain 
their  confidence,  they  will  treat  you  to  the  best  they 
have  to  give.  Hospitality  is  a trait  of  the  Maori 
character,  and,  when  you  get  upon  good  terms  with  them, 
nothing  pleases  them  better  than  when  you  sit  on  the 
ground  around  a steaming  copper  Maori — in  which  the 
food  is  cooked  by  means  of  hot  stones — and  help  your- 
self to  whatever  it  contains,  Indian  corn,  flounders,  eels, 
sweet  potatoes  (kumaras)  and  other  edibles.  Forks, 
knives  and  plates  are  not  in  evidence  upon  these 
occasions  ; you  dine  strictly  d la  Maori.  Travelling  on 
one  occasion  through  a part  of  the  country  where  the 
Maoris  had  not  been  much  in  contact  with  Europeans, 
the  author  was  regularly  supplied  with  grapes,  water- 
melons, rock-melons  and  other  commodities  in  great 
abundance  all  the  time  he  was  amongst  them,  and  they 
refused  to  take  any  payment  for  these  articles.  It  is  dif- 
ferent with  Maoris  who  have  been  in  the  habit  of 
mixing  much  with  Europeans.  When  that  happens, 
all  the  best  traits  in  their  character  seem  to  vanish. 
Their  natures  have  not  improved  by  this  intercourse,  and 
they  have  not  the  same  keen  sense  of  honour  they  used 
to  possess.  The  time  was  in  New  Zealand  when  a 
Maori’s  word  was  as  good  as  his  bond  ; not  now,  for  he 
has  been  contaminated,  and  “ civilisation  ” is  responsible 
for  the  change  that  has  come  over  most  of  the  Maori 


262 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


people,  especially  those  living  adjacent  to  European 
settlements. 

It  will  surprise  most  people  in  Great  Britain  to  learn 
that  the  Mormons  have  sent  missionaries  to  New  Zea- 
land. Several  elders  have  been  there  for  some  years 
now,  seeking  to  make  converts  amongst  the  Maoris,  and 
they  have  succeeded  in  securing  a good  number.  One 
chief  has  actually  gone  to  Salt  Lake  City,  but  the 
author  is  not  aware  that  many  others  have  followed  his 
example.  Their  conversion,  however,  is  undeniable. 

A very  superstitious  race  are  the  Maoris,  and  in  some 
tribes  witchcraft  is  believed  in.  Not  very  long  ago  the 
life  of  a Maori  woman  was  sacrificed  because  the  people 
of  the  hapu  felt  convinced  that  she  had  bewitched  and 
caused  the  death  of  a child.  They  believe  also  in  faith- 
healing, and  their  tohungas  exercise  a powerful  influence 
over  them.  Many  of  them  place  great  faith  in  prophets, 
and  that  is  why  the  followers  of  Tohu  and  Te  Whiti 
have  continued  their  allegiance  to  them  for  so  many 
years  past.  These  people  reside  at  Parihaka,  and  num- 
bers of  them  have  undergone  terms  of  imprisonment 
for  going  upon  the  land  of  settlers  and  ploughing  up 
the  soil  to  assert  their  ownership  of  it.  They  contend 
that  they  were  wrongfully  dispossessed  of  this  land,  and 
believe  that  their  prophets  will  restore  it  to  them  ; but 
that  is  more  than  Te  Whiti  will  ever  be  able  to  accom- 
plish. They  labour  under  the  delusion  that  he  will. 

Dancing  is  one  of  the  amusements  indulged  in  by  the 
Maori  people,  and  they  sing  also,  sometimes  melodiously. 
Their  war-dances  and  hakas  are  very  imposing  per- 
formances, awe-inspiring  when  they  act  as  if  they  were 
about  to  make  an  attack  upon  a hostile  tribe.  Then 
their  yells,  and  contortions,  and  gesticulations  are  awful 
to  hear  and  see,  and  the  songs  of  defiance  are  given  out 
with  great  vigour,  while  the  movements  of  their  bodies 
keep  time  with  the  words,  and  make  the  ground  shake 


THE  MAORIS 


263 


as  they  hurl  their  fierce  taunts  at  their  imaginary  foes. 
Whenever  a new  Governor  lands  in  New  Zealand  these 
war-dances  and  hakas  are  promoted  for  his  entertain- 
ment. They  are  handed  down  from  generation  to 
generation,  and  are  just  the  same  now  as  they  used  to 
be  in  war  times  long  ago.  There  is  one  dance  per- 
formed by  the  Maoris  which  it  is  a great  pleasure  to  see. 
It  is  called  the  poi  dance,  and  men,  women,  youths,  girls, 
and  children  take  part  in  it.  They  sing  the  accompany- 
ing air  with  wonderful  precision,  and  go  through  a 
number  of  evolutions  with  clock-work  regularity.  They 
take  their  cue  from  a leader,  and  keep  perfectly  accurate 
time  both  in  song  and  dance,  their  manipulation  of  the 
poi  being  a really  wonderful  performance.  The  poi 
consists  of  two  balls  of  coloured  flax  or  grass  fibre, 
connected  to  each  other  by  a short  cord,  and  these  they 
twirl  about  with  great  dexterity  so  as  to  make  them  act 
in  harmony  with  the  united  action  of  the  dancers.  It 
requires  a great  deal  of  practice  before  the  poi  dancers 
can  attain  perfection,  and  when  it  is  performed  by 
experts  it  forms  a good  entertainment  and  lasts  for 
a considerable  time.  Various  evolutions  are  gone 
through,  with  a short  rest  at  each  change,  and  by  the 
time  it  is  finished  the  performers  have  well  earned  the 
collection  which  is  made  in  their  behalf  Sometimes 
the  poi  dance  is  given  for  an  amount  stipulated  before- 
hand, and  when  performed  in  one  of  their  runangas  or 
meeting-houses  the  place  is  always  crowded  by  such 
Europeans  as  may  be  in  the  locality  and  all  the  Maori 
members  of  the  community.  Tourists  can  see  the  poi 
dance  at  Rotorua  and  other  show  places,  but  these 
resorts  are  not  the  best  places  in  which  to  form  an 
estimate  of  the  Maori  people.  To  do  this  one  requires 
to  spend  some  days  with  them  in  their  pahs  in  the 
remote  parts  of  the  country.  Proud  of  race,  the  Maoris 
of  the  interior  look  down  upon  those  who  locate  them- 


264 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


selves  around  the  show  places,  and  importune  visitors 
for  money  and  press  their  wares  upon  them  with  such 
persistency  that  visitors  find  it  difficult  to  get  rid  of  the 
swarms  of  vendors  and  mendicants  that  assail  them  at 
every  turn.  That  is  why  these  Maoris  are  held  in  poor 
estimation  by  their  countrymen  in  the  interior,  who 
forget  that  they  are  better  off  than  the  natives  who  are 
to  be  found  in  tourist  tracks,  and  who  have  to  resort  to 
these  methods  to  gain  the  most  part  of  their  livelihood. 

The  educational  establishment  at  the  Three  Kings 
and  the  Maori  College  at  Te  Ante  have  turned  out 
some  well-educated  Maori  youths,  generally  the  sons  of 
chiefs,  and  some  of  these  young  fellows  have  become  so 
Europeanised  as  to  enter  the  legal  profession,  merchants' 
offices,  and  so  on.  It  is  now  quite  a common  thing  to 
see  well-dressed  Maoris  in  the  various  cities,  and  the  tall 
silk  hat  and  frock-coat  are  occasionally  worn  even  by 
old  tattooed  chiefs  when  they  come  down  from  their 
settlements. 

The  custom  of  tattooing  the  face  is  rapidly  going  out, 
although  you  will  still  see  many  young  Maori  women 
with  their  chins  and  lips  tattooed  in  a way  to  denote  the 
particular  tribe  or  hapu  they  belong  to.  Amongst  the 
young  men,  however,  tattooing  of  the  face  is  rarely 
resorted  to  nowadays.  The  mode  of  salutation  is  still 
the  same.  When  friend  meets  friend,  male  or  female, 
they  grasp  each  other  by  the  hand  and  rub  noses, 
muttering  words  in  the  meantime  in  low  tones  to  ex- 
press how  gratified  they  are  ; they  keep  their  noses  in 
contact  for  several  seconds,  and  then  back  from  one 
another.  This  greeting  seems  rather  comical  to  Euro- 
peans who  behold  it  for  the  first  time ; but  after  all  it  is 
no  more  ridiculous,  and  it  is  oftener  more  sincere,  than 
the  habit  of  kissing  which  Europeans  indulge  in  on 
meeting  relatives  or  old  acquaintances  and  friends. 
Therefore,  there  is  nothing  to  laugh  at  when  you  see  a 


THE  MAORIS 


265 


young  Maori  rubbing  noses  either  with  a young  or  an 
old  woman,  or  a tattooed  old  warrior  going  through  the 
same  performance  with  a plump  young  Maori  girl  just 
budding  into  womanhood.  It  is  only  an  old  custom  of 
theirs,  just  as  kissing  is  an  old  habit  of  ours. 

In  olden  times  carving  was  much  practised  amongst 
the  Maoris,  and  very  artistic  and  skilful  they  were  at  it  ; 
but  that,  too,  is  fast  dying  out,  and  will  soon  become  a 
lost  art.  Very  few  Maori  carvers  are  to  be  found  nowa- 
days ; it  is  little  practised  in  any  part  of  the  Colony,  and 
the  young  natives  do  not  appear  to  appreciate  it  as  their 
forefathers  did.  War-canoe  building  has  also  ceased, 
and  that  accounts  in  a great  measure  for  the  few  speci- 
mens of  modern  carving  which  are  now  to  be  seen. 
Some  old  canoes  are  to  be  seen  in  museums  and  other 
institutions,  and  the  carvings  upon  them  show  the  extent 
to  which  carving  must  have  been  cultivated.  Mr.  Nelson, 
who  has  lived  amongst  the  natives  all  his  life,  conceived 
the  notion  of  building  a Maori  house  after  the  style  of 
olden  days,  and  for  that  purpose  assembled  all  the  most 
skilled  carvers  he  could  find  at  Whakarewarewa.  The 
house  was  built  with  the  intention  of  sending  it  to  the 
Paris  Exhibition,  and  a magnificent  piece  of  workman- 
ship it  was  ; but  for  some  reason  it  never  got  to  Paris. 
The  German  Government  purchased  it,  and  this  house, 
which  is  one  of  the  finest  specimens  of  Maori  art  to  be 
seen  anywhere,  has  been  taken  to  Berlin. 

Cannibalism  has  entirely  disappeared  from  New 
Zealand.  The  last  instance  of  the  kind  occurred  on 
the  East  Coast  in  1865,  when  the  band  of  Pai  Mairiris 
led  by  Kereopa  killed  the  Rev.  Mr.  Volkner,  a mis- 
sionary, and  cooked  and  ate  portions  of  his  remains. 
Kereopa  himself  scooped  the  eyes  out  of  the  head  of 
his  victim,  and  fanatically  swallowed  them  in  front  of 
his  band  of  Hauhau  murderers.  Some  time  afterwards 
(November,  1871),  Kereopa  was  captured,  and  on 


266 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


January,  5,  1872,  he  was  executed  at  Napier  for  this 
shocking  outrage. 

Altogether,  there  are  about  38,000  Maoris  left  in 
New  Zealand.  It  is,  of  course,  a mere  remnant  of  the 
native  population  which  was  there  in  Captain  Cook’s 
time  or  at  the  beginning  of  the  century;  but  the  tribal 
wars  which  have  since  ensued  account  for  most  of 
the  decrease  which  has  taken  place.  Infanticide  is 
not  practised  amongst  the  Maoris  as  it  is  amongst  the 
blacks  of  Australia,  and  the  Maoris  have  never  been 
shot  down  like  the  unfortunate  aborigines  of  Australia 
and  Van  Diemen’s  Land.  Therefore,  other  causes  must 
be  looked  to  for  the  decimation  which  has  taken  place. 
The  Maoris  were  a fierce  and  warlike  race  when  Cook 
made  his  acquaintance  with  them,  and  tribal  wars  were 
frequent  from  that  period  till  throughout  nearly  the  first 
half  of  the  last  century.  The  efforts  of  the  missionaries 
and  the  spread  of  settlement  brought  about  a better 
state  of  feeling  amongst  the  natives,  and  no  tribal  war 
of  any  magnitude  has  happened  since  Rangihaeata’s 
forces  were  finally  defeated  and  dispersed  by  the  friendly 
Maoris  under  Wiremu  Kingi  on  August  23,  1846.  In 
the  month  of  June  previously,  that  bloodthirsty  old 
savage,  Te  Rauperaha,  who  deluged  the  south  island 
with  blood,  was  captured,  and  Rangihaeata’s  defeat  in 
August  not  only  terminated  tribal  warfare,  but  secured 
the  safety  of  the  European  settlements  on  Cook’s  Strait. 
With  Te  Rauperaha  and  Rangihaeata  at  large,  not  only 
were  weaker  tribes  constantly  subject  to  attack  and 
massacre,  but  the  European  settlements  themselves  were 
menaced  with  destruction. 

As  already  indicated,  cannibalism  and  tribal  wars  in 
New  Zealand  are  now  things  of  the  past ; but,  to  show  the 
extent  to  which  they  were  carried  on  in  former  times, 
the  author  will  quote  another  extract  from  his  book. 

His  Island  Home  and  Away  in  the  Far  North  ” He 


THE  MAORIS 


267 

IS  describing  Whangaroa  harbour : “ The  harbour  is 
full  of  lovely  indentations,  and  numerous  islands  dis- 
close themselves  to  view  as  the  steamer  proceeds  to  her 
destination.  Among  them  the  most  notable  is  that 
known  as  Peach  Island,  so  called  on  account  of  the 
peach  orchards  that  at  one  time  flourished  upon  it. 
There,  in  the  coldest  blood,  and  in  the  most  cowardly 
manner,  were  put  to  death  about  three  hundred  natives 
who  had  become  the  captives  of  a bloodthirsty  old  chief 
of  the  Ngapuhi.  The  victims  of  this  butchery  were 
tied  hand  and  foot,  and  placed  in  rows  by  other  natives, 
who  dared  not  to  disobey  any  command  which  their 
chief  had  given.  Everything  being  in  readiness,  the  old 
cannibal  went  across  to  the  island  in  his  canoe  one 
morning,  and  with  his  own  hand  he  despatched  the 
whole  of  his  captives,  totally  regardless  of  age  or  sex. 
There  was  then  a horrible  feast,  the  choicest  of  the 
bodies  being  selected  to  appease  the  cannibalistic  appe- 
tites of  the  chief  and  his  followers.  ...  At  the  present 
day  (1879)  there  are  living  amongst  the  Ngapuhi  tribe 
several  old  natives  who  have  eaten  the  flesh  of  those  of 
their  enemies  who  had  fallen  in  the  tribal  battles  which 
took  place  from  time  to  time  for  the  sake  of  conquest, 
the  acquisition  of  larger  territory,  and  the  extension  of 
what  amongst  the  natives  are  termed  mahinga  kai,  or 
places  from  which  the  natural  products  of  the  country, 
such  as  Ti  (cabbage-tree),  fern-root,  &c.,  were  obtained. 
At  Kororareka  I remember  meeting  with  an  old  native 
who  informed  our  party,  when  questioned  on  the  sub- 
ject, that  he  had  been  in  the  habit  of  eating  human 
flesh  till  he  was  a grown-up  lad.  We  shuddered  at  the 
idea,  but  the  old  man  did  not  appear  to  think  that  he 
had  committed  anything  dreadful,  seeing  that  it  was  the 
custom  of  his  countrymen.’' 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

THE  DEMORALISATION  OF  A NOBLE  RACE 

IT  is  not  perhaps  too  much  to  say  that  the  aboriginal 
inhabitants  of  New  Zealand  will  bear  favourable 
comparison  with  any  coloured  race  upon  the  earth's 
surface.  In  physical  strength,  manly  and  womanly 
proportions  and  development,  comeliness  of  feature, 
intellectual  attributes  and  general  intelligence,  it  must 
be  admitted  that  they  are  even  superior  to  the  Red 
Indian  of  North  America,  and  infinitely  above  the  level 
of  the  nomadic  tribes  to  be  encountered  in  the  semi- 
tropical  regions  of  the  great  Australian  Continent. 
The  difference  is  so  striking  between  the  latter  people 
and  themselves  as  to  suggest  that  if  they  ever  had  a 
common  origin,  it  dates  far  into  the  background  of 
pre-historic  times.  Altogether  dissimilar  in  language, 
customs,  physique,  depth  of  colour,  and  intelligence, 
there  is  nothing  whatever  to  encourage  the  belief  that 
the  Maori  of  New  Zealand  and  the  black  man  of 
Australia  ever  belonged  to  the  same  family.  The 
black  man,  in  a word,  is  a type  of  humanity  which 
approaches  more  nearly  to  Darwin's  conception  of  the 
origin  of  species  than  perhaps  any  other  inhabitant  of 
the  globe,  including  those  who  have  been  found  by 
the  most  adventurous  of  travellers  into  the  darkest 

recesses  of  Africa.  The  Australian  black  man,  in 

208 


THE  DEMORALISATION  OF  A NOBLE  RACE  269 


contradistinction  with  the  aboriginal  of  New  Zealand, 
has  neither  history  nor  traditions,  and  his  conditions 
and  surroundings,  and  all  that  is  or  can  possibly  be 
known  of  him,  are  strongly  suggestive  of  the  belief 
that  the  Australian  Continent  has  been  his  own  happy 
hunting-ground  for  all  time. 

It  is  not  so  with  the  New  Zealander.  Inquiry  into 
the  subject  has  revealed  the  fact  that  for  ages  after  the 
Creation  New  Zealand  was  destitute  of  inhabitants,  and 
that  the  people  who  were  originally  found  to  inhabit  it 
by  Cook  and  other  great  explorers  were  the  descendants 
of  a race  which  had  migrated  to  it  from  afar — how  long 
ago  being  a matter  of  the  purest  conjecture.  Historians 
have  as  yet  been  unable  to  fix  definitely  upon  the  exact 
corner  of  the  globe  they  came  from,  and  it  unfortunately 
happens  that  the  Maoris  themselves,  in  the  absence  of 
any  reliable  data,  cannot  assist  them  in  the  solution  of 
the  problem.  They  have  a tradition,  it  is  true,  that 
they  originally  belonged  to  a place  called  Hawaiki,  but 
its  exact  location  they  are  puzzled  to  explain,  and  the 
whole  question  is  still  involved  in  mystery  and  doubt. 
The  only  point  established  with  any  degree  of  certainty 
is  that  they  must  have  voyaged  for  thousands  of  miles 
across  the  Pacific  Ocean  before  reaching  their  resting- 
place,  within  thirteen  hundred  miles  of  the  Australian 
Continent.  That  this  migration  must  have  set  in  from 
somewhere  to  the  eastward  is  obvious,  because  upwards 
of  two  thousand  miles  away,  namely,  in  the  Hawaii 
islands,  we  find  a race  strongly  resembling  the  Maoris 
in  most  particulars.  In  colour  they  are  exact  proto- 
types, and  there  is  no  material  difference  in  their 
language,  intonation,  and  general  characteristics.  So 
forcibly,  indeed,  is  the  traveller  convinced  of  this,  that, 
except  for  the  tropical  features  of  Hawaii,  he  would 
remain  under  the  impression  that  he  was  still  in 
Maoriland. 


270 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


Whilst  there  is  this  similarity  between  the  inhabi-. 
tants  of  Hawaii  and  New  Zealand,  it  is  somewhat 
curious  to  note  that  almost  midway  between  them 
another  type  of  humanity  is  to  be  found  in  the  islands 
of  Samoa.  The  inhabitants  of  the  latter  are  not  nearly 
so  dark  in  colour.  They  are  what  may  be  described  as 
a light  bronze  race,  whose  skins  sparkle  with  remarkable 
brilliancy  under  the  tropical  sun.  They  are  gentler  in 
manners  than  the  native  inhabitants  of  either  New 
Zealand  or  Hawaii,  and  more  graceful  and  manly 
in  carriage.  They  have  a suppleness  of  movement 
which  the  Hawaiians  and  New  Zealanders  do  not 
possess,  and  walk  with  a gracefulness  and  activity 
which  one  might  reasonably  suppose  had  been  acquired 
by  a regular  course  of  physical  training.  So  far  as 
natural  intelligence  goes,  they  stand  upon  an  equality 
with  the  Maoris  on  the  one  hand  and  the  Hawaiians  on 
the  other  ; generally  speaking,  I would  say  they  are 
superior  to  either,  without  having  had  the  same  oppor- 
tunities for  advancement.  Certainly,  the  conditions 
under  which  I saw  the  Samoans  deeply  impressed  me 
with  that  belief.  I only  refer  to  them  here  for  the 
purpose  of  showing  that  a different  race  exists  between 
two  other  peoples  widely  distant  from  each  other,  and 
this  fact  renders  it  still  more  difficult  to  decide  with 
certainty  the  origin  of  those  who  inhabit  the  various 
islands  of  the  mid  and  southern  Pacific. 

But  whether  or  not  the  Samoans  can  claim  superiority, 
and  no  matter  what  his  origin  may  be,  we  see  in  the 
Maori  a splendid  type  of  coloured  humanity.  That,  at 
all  events,  was  the  impression  formed  of  him  by  most 
of  those  who  beheld  him  for  the  first  time.  In  the  days 
of  Cook,  and  for  generations  subsequently,  he  was  wild, 
fierce,  and  warlike,  and  tribal  warfare  was  of  frequent 
occurrence.  Not  content  with  their  own  vast  possessions, 
the  stronger  tribes  from  time  to  time  set  out  upon 


THE  DEMORALISATION  OF  A NOBLE  RACE  271 

expeditions  against  tribes  numerically  weaker,  and  in 
this  way  the  population  became  greatly  decimated  ; for 
it  was  the  recognised  reward  of  superior  prowess  that 
not  only  did  the  territories  of  the  conquered  tribes 
become  by  right  of  conquest  the  property  of  the  victors, 
but  the  vanquished  were  either  killed  and  eaten,  or 
carried  into  slavery.  These  wars  of  conquest  and 
subjugation  were  continued  even  far  into  the  century 
which  has  just  closed,  and  only  ended  with  the  whole- 
sale butcheries  of  Te  Rauperaha  some  years  after 
British  colonisation  had  actually  begun. 

The  initial  efforts  of  missionary  enterprise  date  as 
far  back  as  1814,  and  in  those  days  the  Rev.  Samuel 
Marsden  and  other  missionaries  carried  their  lives  in 
their  hands.  But  dangerous  as  the  enterprise  was,  they 
gradually  succeeded  in  curbing  the  warlike  and  ferocious 
spirit  of  the  native  inhabitants.  Internecine  strife 
diminished,  and  cannibalism  decreased,  and  through 
the  exertions  of  the  early  missionaries  the  Maoris 
were  induced  to  embrace  Christianity.  There  was, 
however,  an  element  operating  against  the  good  work 
of  these  courageous  men  which  retarded  their  progress 
in  rescuing  the  native  tribes  from  idolatry,  and  inducing 
them  to  assimilate  themselves  to  the  altered  conditions 
of  life  which  the  exemplary  teachings  of  these  mis- 
sionaries imposed  upon  their  converts  to  the  Christian 
faith.  The  fact  must  be  noted,  because  it  marks  the 
starting-point  of  the  process  of  demoralisation  which 
subsequently  seized  upon  the  native  people  with  a firm 
hold,  and  has  continued  till  this  day,  with  all  its 
deplorable  consequences. 

It  unfortunately  happened  that  New  Zealand  in  the 
early  part  of  the  last  century  became  attractive  as  a 
whaling  ground.  Whaling  stations  were  established  on 
various  parts  of  its  coasts,  and  the  greatest  of  them  all 
was  in  the  very  locality  where  missionary  enterprise  first 


1L^2  AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 

began.  There,  indeed,  as  many  as  forty  whaling-vessels 
have  been  known  frequently  to  rendezvous  at  particular 
seasons,  and  to  this  fact  the  early  contamination  of  the 
Maori  race  must  be  ascribed.  Rum  was  introduced. 
Runaway  sailors  — generally  men  of  low  character — 
sought  refuge  amongst  the  natives,  adopted  Maori 
customs,  took  wives  unto  themselves,  and  introduced  all 
the  vices  and  none  of  the  virtues  of  the  white  race. 
Despite  all  the  efforts  of  the  missionaries  to  counteract 
its  progress,  drunkenness  became  an  increasing  vice. 
As  Rochefoucauld  so  tersely  expresses  it  in  regard  to 
other  immoral  tendencies — quand  le  premier  pas  est 
fait^  les  autres  vont  si  vites^^ — and  so  it  was  with  the 
demoralisation  of  the  native  New  Zealanders  from  this 
source  of  contamination.  It  is  unnecessary  to  detail  its 
developments  from  that  early  period  of  European 
contact  until  to-day.  It  is  sufficient  to  say  that  the  vice 
of  drunkenness  amongst  the  natives,  unknown  before 
the  advent  of  the  white  man,  is  the  most  deplorable 
outcome  of  civilisation  that  presents  itself.  It  is  upon 
no  hearsay  evidence  that  I make  this  assertion.  It  is 
not  upon  what  others  have  seen  and  recorded  that  I 
base  my  conclusions,  but  upon  the  testimony  of  my  own 
eyes.  I have  travelled  through  the  whole  of  New 
Zealand — north,  south,  east,  and  west — not  once,  but 
often.  In  official  capacities  and  otherwise,  I suppose  I 
have  come  into  contact  with  almost  every  native  tribe 
in  that  land  of  surpassing  loveliness  and  natural 
attractiveness,  a part  of  the  world  which  should  be 
God’s  own  country  in  every  respect ; and  I must 
declare  that  often  and  often  I have  been  moved  to 
pity  at  the  thought  of  a fine  race  being  degraded  to  the 
extent  the  Maoris  have  been  by  the  alarming  increase 
of  drinking  habits  amongst  them.  Successive  govern- 
ments are  almost  equally  to  blame  for  the  temptations 
which  have  been  placed  in  their  way,  none  more 


THE  DEMORALISATION  OF  A NOBLE  RACE  273 


so  than  the  present  regime^  politically  supported  and 
maintained  in  power  as  it  is  by  the  assistance  of  those 
engaged  in  the  liquor  traffic.  Instead  of  absolutely 
prohibiting  the  sale  of  intoxicating  liquor  to  people  of 
the  native  race,  houses  are  licensed  in  districts  where 
the  coloured  population  far  exceeds  that  of  the  whites, 
and  even  now  strong  efforts  are  being  made  to  extend 
the  sale  within  the  confines  of  the  King  Country,  where 
such  undesirable  houses  have  not  hitherto  existed.  The 
advocates  of  prohibition,  aided  by  some  of  the  more 
enlightened  Maoris  who  see  plainly  that  the  drink  traffic 
means  the  impoverishment  and  gradual  extinction  of 
their  race,  are  doing  all  they  can  to  resist  this  extension 
of  the  traffic ; but  they  have  powerful  hostile  influences 
to  overcome  before  they  can  succeed  in  the  commendable 
and  philanthropic  crusade  they  have  engaged  in,  know- 
ing as  they  do  that  if  the  native  race  is  to  be  preserved, 
that  can  only  be  secured  by  the  imposition  of  laws 
which  will  render  it  a criminal  act,  punishable  by  heavy 
fine  and  even  imprisonment,  to  supply  any  native  man, 
woman,  or  child  with  drink.  When  one  thinks  of  the 
enormous  amount  of  money  which  the  natives  have 
squandered  in  its  purchase,  the  consequent  disorders, 
crime,  and  mortality  which  have  resulted  from  its 
immoderate  use  and  the  facilities  for  obtaining  it,  one 
cannot  help  endorsing  the  platform  of  those  who  are 
working  so  strenuously  to  put  down  the  vice  alike  by 
moral  suasion  and  prohibitory  legislation.  Leaving 
confiscations  of  territory  as  the  sequel  of  rebellious 
outbreaks  out  of  the  question — and  these  form  but  a 
moderate  portion  of  the  lands  that  have  been  alienated 
— what  do  we  actually  find  ? That  out  of  a heritage  of 
over  sixty-six  millions  of  acres,  there  remain  only  five 
million  acres  in  the  possession  of  the  native  people,  and 
they  have  little  or  nothing  to  show  for  what  they  have 
parted  with.  By  far  the  largest  portion  of  the  purchase- 

19 


274 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


money  has  been  absolutely  thrown  into  the  pockets  of 
the  liquor  ring  ; and  if  the  system  of  land-grab  goes  on, 
and  the  drink  curse  remains  unchecked,  the  end  will 
assuredly  be  that  the  Maori  race  will  dwindle  to  a mere 
remnant,  and  that  this  remnant  of  a people,  endowed 
with  many  good  natural  qualities,  will  have  to  look  to 
those  who  have  despoiled  them  for  the  actual  means  of 
support.  Such  will  be  their  fate  if  nothing  is  done 
to  arrest  their  degeneracy  and  ultimate  extinction, 
through  causes  which  are  in  no  way  irremediable  or 
hopeless  of  removal. 

It  is  the  invariable  experience  of  civilising  nations  that 
subject-peoples  are  more  apt  in  acquiring  the  vices  than 
the  virtues  of  those  who  go  ostensibly  to  civilise  them, 
and  the  native  New  Zealander  is  no  exception  to  the 
rule.  Neither  has  it  been  demonstrated  that  he  is  a 
whit  more  capable  of  resisting  harmful  temptations 
than  the  native  who  belongs  to  a coloured  race  which, 
from  no  point  of  view,  is  upon  a level  with  himself,  and 
under  these  circumstances  every  care  should  be  taken 
of  his  interests.  But  unfortunately  that  has  not  been, 
and  is  not,  the  case.  Temptations  of  all  kinds  are 
thrown  in  his  way,  as  a journey  undertaken  through 
almost  every  Maori  district  will  testify.  Let  any  one 
visit  the  district  of  Taranaki,  for  example,  or  those  on 
the  east  coast  in  proximity  to  European  settlement,  or 
in  the  far  north  in  the  vicinity  of  Russell,  Hokianga, 
Whangaroa,  or  Mongonui,  and  he  will  have  too  ample 
opportunities  of  observing  the  strong  hold  which  drink 
has  got  of  the  natives.  In  fact,  drink  has  been  forced 
upon  them  under  the  modus  operandi  of  the  native  land 
court  system,  and  the  ultimate  payment  of  the  purchase- 
money  for  the  tracts  they  part  with.  It  rarely  happens 
that  a native  land  court  is  held  in  localities  where 
licensed  houses  do  not  abound.  This  is  the  first  step 
after  the  natives  have  agreed  to  sell  a block  of  land. 


THE  DEMORALISATION  OF  A NOBLE  RACE  275 

The  Court  sits  for  the  individualising  of  the  native  titles, 
and  the  whole  tribe  comes  in — men,  women,  and  children 
— to  substantiate  their  joint  ownership  in  the  block  that 
is  to  be  disposed  of.  This  done  to  the  satisfaction  of 
the  native  land  court  judge,  upon  whose  decision  rests 
the  individualisation  of  the  titles,  the  next  stage  in  the 
process  of  acquisition  is  that  a Government  agent 
assembles  the  owners  together  and  pays  each  the 
portion  of  money  to  which  he  or  she  may  be  entitled. 
The  distribution  is  made,  and  then  the  licensed  houses 
in  the  neighbourhood  reap  a golden  harvest.  The 
common  bar  and  every  available  apartment  is  crowded 
with  natives  of  all  ages  and  sexes.  For  days  together 
scenes  of  revelry  are  continued.  They  are  supplied 
with  liquor  of  the  worst  sort,  and  even  whole  cases  of 
so-called  champagne  are  consumed  ; for  the  inebriated 
Maori,  in  his  innocence,  is  easily  imposed  on.  He  has 
seen  Europeans  drinking  champagne  in  some  of  the 
larger  townships  he  has  visited,  and,  having  the  money 
in  his  pocket,  he  readily  parts  with  it,  and  likes  to 
imitate  European  practices.  In  this  way  matters  go  on 
for  days  and  nights  at  a stretch  ; the  public-house  is  one 
continuous  scene  of  drinking  and  uproar,  and  the 
general  bout  only  terminates  when  most  of  the  Maoris 
discover  that  they  have  no  more  money  to  spend.  Then 
they  return  to  their  settlements,  minus  their  land  and 
with  empty  pockets  besides ; and  the  same  scene  is 
renewed  whenever  they  have  another  strip  of  their 
possessions  to  pass  through  the  native  land  court.  I 
take  the  responsibility  of  declaring  that  I have 
witnessed  similar  occurrences,  not  once,  but  often,  and 
that  I have  bitterly  deplored  the  existence  of  a system 
whose  effects  are  not  only  to  deprive  the  natives  of  their 
possessions,  bit  by  bit,  but  to  demoralise  them  in  a 
variety  of  ways.  Now,  if  the  Government  is  desirous  of 
pursuing  its  policy  of  land  acquisition,  it  might  be 


276 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


accomplished  without  impoverishing  and  degrading  the 
Maori  people.  That  can  easily  be  done  by  absolutely 
prohibiting  the  sale  of  liquor  to  them,  and  by  holding 
these  native  land  courts  and  money  distributions  in 
places  remote  from  licensed  houses.  If  the  Government 
has  that  solicitude  for  the  welfare  of  the  Maori  race 
which  it  pretends  to  have,  there  is  no  easier  way  of 
showing  it  than  by  the  adoption  of  the  plan  here 
indicated,  and  there  will  at  least  be  hope  of  the  Maoris 
receiving  some  benefit  from  the  sales  decided  on.  The 
drink  question  is  the  one  which,  above  all  others,  deeply 
involves  either  the  preservation  or  the  extinction  of  the 
native  race  in  New  Zealand,  and  is  a question  which  the 
Aborigines  Protection  Society  (whose  headquarters  are 
in  London)  might  very  properly  take  in  hand.  Its 
assistance  would  be  joyfully  welcomed  by  those  in  the 
Colony  who  are  striving  all  they  know  to  combat  the 
worst  evil  which  has  assailed  the  Maori  people,  and  help 
of  this  kind  cannot  be  given  one  moment  too  soon  if 
the  Maori  people  are  to  be  rescued  from  the  ravages  of 
a terrible  vice. 


CHAPTER  XXV 


REPRESENTATIVE  AND  RESPONSIBLE  GOVERNMENT 
LTHOUGH,  as  has  been  shown,  considerable 


trading  relations  existed  between  New  Zealand 
and  Australia,  and  settlement  had  been  gradually  pro- 
gressing all  through  the  beginning  of  the  last  century, 
it  was  not  until  1840  that  British  sovereignty  was 
proclaimed  over  New  Zealand,  and  in  the  following  year 
it  became  a separate  Colony.  Auckland  was  the  seat  of 
Government,  and  the  Executive  included  the  Governor, 
the  Colonial  Secretary,  Colonial  Treasurer,  and  the 
Attorney-General.  The  government  of  the  Colony  was 
vested  in  the  Governor,  who  was  responsible  only  to 
the  Crown.  In  1852,  however,  an  Act  was  passed  by 
the  Imperial  Legislature  granting  representative  institu- 
tions to  the  Colony.  Under  this  constitution  provision 
was  made  for  a Parliament  or  General  Assembly, 
consisting  of  a Legislative  Council,  the  members  of 
which  were  to  be  nominated  by  the  Governor,  and  an 
elective  House  of  Representatives.  The  first  session  of 
the  General  Assembly  was  opened  on  May  27,  1854, 
but  at  that  time  the  members  of  the  Executive  were  not 
responsible  to  Parliament.  By  the  Act  of  1852,  the 
Colony  was  divided  into  six  provinces,  each  presided 
over  by  a Superintendent.  An  elective  Provincial 
Council  was  provided  for  each  of  these  provinces,  and 


278  AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 

these  Councils  were  empowered  to  pass  ordinances 
except  on  certain  specified  subjects  which  were  to  be 
dealt  with  exclusively  by  the  General  Assembly.  The 
Superintendents  were  elected  by  the  whole  body  of 
electors  in  these  provinces  and  the  members  of  the 
Councils  by  the  electors  in  particular  districts.  The 
number  of  provinces  was  afterwards  increased  to  nine, 
and  this  dual  system  of  government — by  the  General 
Assembly  and  Provincial  Councils — existed  until  1876, 
when,  by  an  alteration  of  the  Constitution,  the  provinces 
were  abolished  by  an  Act  promoted  by  the  late  Sir 
Julius  Vogel.  By  this  Abolition  of  Provinces  Act, 
Superintendents  and  Provincial  Councils  gave  place  to 
a system  of  local  county  government,  which  has  worked 
more  or  less  satisfactorily  ever  since. 

What  turned  public  opinion  against  the  Provincial 
Government  system  was  this.  The  Colony  had  not  only  a 
Central  Government,  but  also  nine  Provincial  Govern- 
ments and  Parliaments.  The  Superintendent  of  each 
province  had  his  executive,  and  the  Provincial  Council 
met  regularly  in  session  once  a year  to  pass  ordinances 
and  vote  supplies.  These  Provincial  Parliaments  had 
their  speakers,  their  Government  and  Opposition  benches, 
their  votes  of  want  of  confidence,  their  protracted 
debates,  select  committees,  turning  out  of  executives, 
appointment  of  successors  from  the  Opposition  side  of 
the  chamber,  and  altogether  there  was  quite  a slavish 
observance  of  all  the  parliamentary  procedure  of  West- 
minster. Members  sat  in  these  Provincial  Councils  with 
their  hats  on  and  off,  just  as  they  do  in  the  House  of 
Commons,  divisions  were  called,  and  the  sandglass 
applied  to  denote  the  time  before  the  doors  were  locked, 
people  were  brought  to  the  bar,  attention  was  called  to 
the  presence  of  strangers,  and  the  galleries  were  cleared  ; 
Government  crises  were  announced,  the  fall  of  this  Govern- 
ment or  that  duly  chronicled  in  big  cross  headings  by  the 


REPRESENTATIVE  GOVERNMENT  279 

local  prints,  and  the  assumption  of  office  by  a fresh  set 
of  men  heralded  forth  to  the  local  world.  These  Pro- 
vincial Councils  tookjthe  House  of  Commons  as  a model 
for  their  guidance,  and  usages  and  old  musty  precedents 
were  observed  with  the  same  degree  of  punctiliousness 
as  if  they  had  regard  to  the  affairs  of  a great  nation. 
Even  in  the  matter  of  prayers  the  author  has  known  the 
Dean  of  Christchurch — dear,  good  old  soul  that  he  was 
— to  attend  the  Canterbury  Provincial  Council,  attired  in 
his  clerical  robes,  day  after  day  for  years,  to  do  nothing 
else  than  perform  the  prayerful  preliminary  to  the  open- 
ing of  each  day’s  proceedings.  Really,  when  one  looks 
back  at  this  distance  of  time  upon  the  modes  of  pro- 
cedure in  these  Provincial  Legislatures,  he  wonders  how 
it  was  possible  for  men  of  common-sense  to  have  been 
such  slavish  imitators  of  the  Mother  of  Parliaments  at 
St.  Stephen’s.  Remember,  too,  that  this  system  of 
Provincial  Government  existed  from  the  early  fifties  until 
the  1st  of  November,  1876,  and  that  five  years  before  its 
abolition,  namely,  in  1871,  the  population  of  the  whole 
Colony,  exclusive  of  Maoris,  numbered  only  267,000 
souls ! What  an  absurdity,  to  be  sure  ! ” will  be  the 
natural  exclamation  of  people  in  England  who  may 
now  hear  of  it  for  the  first  time.  The  population  was 
in  a ridiculous  disproportion  to  the  cost  of  governing  it. 

Apart,  however,  from  this  provincial  parliamentary 
frivolity  and  aping  of  things  at  the  other  end  of  the 
earth,  its  excessive  costliness,  and  extensive  machinery, 
it  cannot  be  denied  that  the  Provincial  Government 
system  accomplished  much  good  and  useful  work  in 
the  promotion  of  settlement,  and  if  these  institutions  had 
been  less  pretentious  the  probability  is  that  Sir  Julius 
Vogel  would  never  have  succeeded  in  abolishing  them. 
If  the  boundaries  of  these  provinces  had  been  extended 
so  as  to  absorb  at  least  four  of  them,  and  leave  three 
for  the  South  and  two  for  the  North  Island,  the  provincial 


28o 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


system  might  have  been  in  existence  to-day  ; but  no  such 
arrangement  was  ever  promoted,  although  it  was  often 
suggested  that  one  Government  and  Parliament  should 
be  established  in  each  island  and  the  Central  Government 
itself  done  away  with.  At  one  period,  indeed,  the 
separation  of  North  and  South  was  seriously  entertained, 
as  the  South  complained  that  it  was  nothing  but  a milch 
cow  for  the  North.  The  proposal  came  to  nothing, 
however,  and  the  nine  provinces  took  no  steps  in  the 
direction  of  amalgamation.  The  costly  and  cumbrous 
system  went  on  without  curtailment  of  its  cost  or 
functions  until  public  feeling  encouraged  Sir  Julius 
Vogel  to  make  his  wholesale  assault  upon  it,  and,  the 
question  being  relegated  to  the  electors,  the  abolitionists 
carried  the  day  by  a large  majority,  and  the  provinces 
were  accordingly  wiped  out. 

Let  us  see  now  what  the  General  Government  and 
Parliament  were  doing.  From  the  starting  point  of 
representative  and  responsible  government  in  New 
Zealand,  many  very  able  men  took  part  in  public  affairs. 
But  the  Government  was  of  an  essentially  conservative 
character  because  it  was  founded  upon  a basis  of  conser- 
vatism. A more  conservative  chamber  than  the  Upper 
House  could  not  be  conceived  ; it  only  differed  from  the 
English  House  of  Lords  because  it  was  not  hereditary, 
but  it  was  as  near  an  approach  to  the  latter  as  nomina- 
tion of  its  members  for  life  by  the  Governor  could  make 
it.  It  was  nothing  more  nor  less  than  an  exclusive  club, 
within  whose  sacred  portals  none  but  the  creme  de  la 
creme  could  find  admission.  The  Lower  House  was  in 
a great  measure  composed  of  the  same  select  material. 
Although  its  constitution  was  elective,  the  franchise  was 
upon  a basis  which  excluded  large  numbers  of  people 
from  the  electoral  rolls.  There  was  no  one-man-one- 
vote  in  those  days  ; the  mere  suggestion  of  it  spelt  rank 
republicanism.  As  the  result  of  this  narrow  franchise, 


REPRESENTATIVE  GOVERNMENT 


281 


the  inconvenience  and  expense  of  attending  Parliament, 
and  the  smallness  of  the  reimbursement  for  parlia- 
mentary service,  only  wealthy  men  could  aspire  to  seats 
in  the  lower  branch  of  the  Legislature.  It  was  conser- 
vatism all  round,  and  class  interests,  it  may  be  sure, 
were  well  looked  after  in  a Parliament  so  composed. 
The  squatters  or  runholders  were  in  the  ascendancy,  and 
there  was  nothing  to  prevent  them  shaping  legislation  in 
a way  to  suit  their  own  interests  best.  And  they  did, 
like  the  good  old  conservatives  they  were.  As  an  out- 
come of  their  preponderance,  governing  families  were 
established,  and  the  see-saw  of  political  strife  always 
found  men  of  the  same  class  either  in  or  out  of  office. 
The  surrender  of  office  by  one  set  of  men  and  the 
assumption  of  it  by  another  set  of  men  was  a sort  of 
family  arrangement  which  did  not  necessarily  carry  with 
it  any  material  change  of  policy.  The  predominant  idea 
was  to  found  a landed  aristocracy  in  New  Zealand,  and 
to  that  one  great  object  the  early  legislators  devoted 
themselves  with  unwavering  persistency  and  with  much 
success.  The  land  laws  were  framed  in  a way  to  render 
these  laws  exceedingly  accommodating  to  the  purposes 
of  those  who  placed  them  on  the  Statute  Book.  Large 
estates  were  acquired  here,  there,  and  everywhere,  and 
these  estates  were  extended  as  opportunity  offered  from 
time  to  time.  The  lands  of  the  native  people  became 
common  prey,  and  these  landed  aristocrats  helped  them- 
selves without  stint  or  qualms  of  conscience.  In  those 
parts  of  the  Colony  where  the  native  lands  had  passed 
into  the  possession  of  the  Provincial  Governments,  the 
land-grab  system  was  no  less  conspicuously  at  work. 
Vast  areas  were  gridironed,  so  that  eventually  the  whole 
of  them  might  become  the  properties  of  a few  individuals, 
and  altogether  it  looked  as  if  the  original  idea  of  estab- 
lishing a landed  aristocracy  in  New  Zealand  could  not 
be  successfully  resisted.  They  were  the  class  who 


282 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


governed — the  class  who  largely  preponderated  in  both 
Houses  of  Parliament,  and  consequently  the  legislation 
was  of  a character  to  suit  themselves.  If  any  reform 
was  made  in  the  land  system,  this  reform  took  the  shape 
of  rendering  it  more  difficult  for  men  in  poorer  circum- 
stances to  obtain  a footing  on  the  soil.  To  extend  the 
franchise  was  the  one  thing  farthest  from  their  intention, 
and  as  for  social  legislation  scant  attention  was  paid  to 
it.  The  majority  at  their  back  always  ensured  the  defeat 
of  proposals  of  a liberal  tendency,  and  they  stuck  to 
their  conservative  creed  most  tenaciously  and  with  great 
unanimity  of  purpose.  Concession  was  a word  unknown 
in  their  vocabulary  so  far  as  their  own  selfish  control  of 
public  affairs  was  concerned.  They  had  a splendid 
innings,  but  in  the  end  they  overreached  themselves,  and, 
grabbing  at  too  much,  lost  hold  of  much  they  had 
already  secured  by  class  legislation. 

The  first  event  that  sounded  the  death-knell  of  con- 
servatism in  New  Zealand  was  the  gold-rush  which  set 
in  to  New  Zealand  in  1862,  through  the  discovery  of  the 
precious  metal  by  Gabriel  Reed  in  a gully  close  to  the 
township  of  Tokomairiro,  and  called,  after  its  discoverer, 
Gabriel’s  Gully ; then  further  rushes  to  various  parts  of 
Otago,  then  to  Wakamarino  and  the  West  Coast,  and 
afterwards  to  the  Thames  Goldfield.  These  influxes 
increased  the  population  enormously ; and  a further 
great  impulse  was  given  to  the  progress  of  the  whole 
country  by  Sir  Julius  Vogel’s  public  works  and  immi- 
gration policy  of  1870.  Under  that  great  scheme  Sir 
Julius  successfully  floated  a ten-million  loan  for  the 
purpose  of  carrying  out  works  in  advance  of  settlement. 
Railways,  roads,  water-races,  and  other  large  public 
works,  were  constructed,  and  immigration  was  con- 
ducted upon  a large  scale.  From  all  these  causes  the 
population  increased  rapidly,  so  much  so,  indeed,  that 
in  the  ten  years  between  1871  and  1881  it  rose  from 


REPRESENTATIVE  GOVERNMENT  283 

267,000  to  501,000,  and  then  to  743,463  in  1898,  without 
including  Maoris  in  the  count.  Colonial  experience  has 
shov/n  that  there  is  no  influence  so  democratising  as 
that  which  springs  from  the  influx  of  a large  gold- 
mining population,  and  so  it  proved  in  New  Zealand. 
Then  followed  the  additions  under  the  immigration 
provisions  of  Sir  Julius  Vogel's  scheme,  and  the  two 
contributing  forces  brought  about  a complete  alteration 
in  the  political  outlook.  Conservatism  was  doomed; 
that  was  quite  obvious.  Land  reform,  extension  of  the 
franchise,  labour  and  social  legislation,  free  and  com- 
pulsory education,  and  other  questions,  began  to  agitate 
the  public  mind.  Mr.  Robert  Stout,  Mr.  Ballance,  and 
others,  worked  strenuously  to  secure  a reform  of  the 
land  laws,  and  they  were  ably  assisted  by  Sir  George 
Grey,  who  added  his  one-man-one-vote  to  the  liberal 
programme,  and  kept  pegging  away  at  his  proposal  until 
it  reached  the  statute-book. 

The  author  will  not  further  anticipate  the  course  of 
events,  or  show  how  much  the  Colony  is  indebted  to  Sir 
Robert  Stout  and  the  late  Mr.  Ballance,  except  to  draw 
a contrast  between  the  Parliament  which  once  existed 
in  New  Zealand  and  the  Parliament  as  it  exists  to-day. 

It  will  be  seen  from  this  narration  of  events  that  the 
New  Zealand  Parliament  has  passed  through  a transi- 
tion which  is  most  extraordinary— from  a stage  of 
ultra-conservatism  to  a condition  of  personal  control  and 
obsequious  subserviency  which  renders  it  utterly  con- 
temptible in  the  eyes  of  people  who  desire  to  see  an 
honest,  unselfish,  and  pure  democracy  established  in 
New  Zealand. 


CHAPTER  XXVI 

THE  '‘SUGAR  AND  FLOUR  POLICY '' — NATIVE  SCHOOLS 
— SIR  GEORGE  GREY  AND  THE  NATIVES — MAORI 
REPRESENTATION  IN  PARLIAMENT 

WITH  the  view  of  coping  with  the  native  difficulty 
and  securing  the  permanent  peace  of  the 
country,  recourse  was  had  to  what  is  known  in  New 
Zealand  history  as  the  " sugar  and  flour  policy.”  The 
then  Government,  as  Mr.  Gorst  puts  it,  " determined  to 
purchase  by  presents  and  pensions  the  goodwill  of  the 
principal  native  chiefs.”  Offices  of  various  kinds  were 
created  for  them,  and  pensions  were  granted  to  those 
who  had  taken  a leading  part  in  assisting  the  forces  to 
fight  against  their  own  countrymen.  The  " sugar  and 
flour  policy  ” had  its  effects  upon  the  native  population, 
and  although  it  did  not  prevent  subsequent  outbreaks, 
still  it  succeeded  in  bringing  about  a state  of  things 
which  gave  every  assurance  that  the  Maoris  were  a 
conquered  race,  and  that  no  further  wars  would  happen 
in  the  country  on  a scale  such  as  those  which  it  had 
already  passed  through. 

One  other  feature  in  the  Government’s  policy  for  the 
permanent  restoration  of  peace  was  the  establishment  of 
schools  in  native  districts,  and  these  were  certainly  the 
means  of  doing  a vast  amount  of  good  amongst  the 
native  people,  and  of  improving  the  relations  between 

284 


THE  SUGAR  AND  FLOUR”  POLICY  285 

the  Europeans  and  themselves.  The  author  visited 
many  of  these  establishments  in  the  North  Island,  and 
is  able  to  bear  testimony  to  the  excellent  effect  they  had 
upon  the  native  mind.  The  Government  also  gave 
assistance  towards  the  maintenance  of  boarding  schools 
for  the  education  of  the  daughters  of  Maori  chiefs.  In 
an  illustrated  work  entitled  ‘‘  His  Island  Home  and 
Away  in  the  Far  North,”  published  by  him  in  1879,  the 
author  wrote  as  follows  upon  the  subject  of  Maori 
education  : — 

“ Some  time  prior  to  the  death  of  Sir  Donald  McLean, 
one  of  the  measures  which  he  adopted,  with  a view  to 
the  permanent  pacification  of  the  country,  was  the 
establishment  of  native  schools  in  various  districts  of 
the  North ; but  in  adopting  this  course  the  then  Native 
Minister  was  only  following  in  the  footsteps  of  Sir 
George  Grey,  at  whose  instigation,  when  he  occupied 
the  position  of  Governor,  many  very  excellent  schools 
were  founded  in  certain  centres  of  native  population. 
Amongst  the  native  boarding  schools  established  and 
maintained  under  the  fostering  care  of  his  Excellency 
during  the  period  of  Sir  George  Grey's  first  Governor- 
ship of  New  Zealand,  the  following  may  be  mentioned  : 
There  were  three  excellent  institutions  on  the  Wai- 
kato kept  by  Archdeacon  Maunsell,  Mr.  Ashewell,  and 
Mr.  Morgan,  of  the  Church  Missionary  Society.  Mr. 
Ashewell's  was  a girl’s  school,  conducted  by  Mrs.  Ashe- 
well, and  was  a perfect  model  of  what  such  a school 
should  be.  It  and  the  other  two  on  the  Waikato  had 
each  about  120  pupils.  There  was  another  fine  school 
at  the  Three  Kings,  kept  by  the  Wesleyans,  with 
upwards  of  1 50  children  as  boarders  ; a very  efficient 
girls’  school  at  St.  Stephen’s,  Auckland,  under  the 
direction  of  the  Anglican  Bishop  of  New  Zealand ; a 
large  boarding  school  at  Otaki,  kept  by  Archdeacon 
Hadfield,  the  present  Bishop  of  Wellington  ; another  at 


286 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


Taranaki,  conducted  by  Mr.  Turton,  a Wesleyan  mis- 
sionary ; there  was  a girls'  orphan  asylum  and  school  at 
Wellington,  kept  by  the  late  R.  C.  Bishop-Viard  ; an 
admirable  school  at  Napier,  conducted  by  two  Catholic 
priests  ; also  two  boarding  schools  at  Auckland  under 
the  direction  of  the  late  Bishop  Pompallier ; and 
throughout  other  parts  of  the  Colony  similar  institutions 
were  in  existence.  All  these  were  in  a state  of  the 
highest  efficiency  in  the  year  1853,  but  they  unfortu- 
nately fell  into  decay  when  the  native  war  came  on.  In 
resuscitating  the  native  school  system,  the  late  lamented 
Native  Minister  adopted  one  of  the  most  certain 
measures  that  could  be  devised  towards  a reconciliation 
of  the  races,  and  the  wisdom  of  such  a course  must  be 
apparent  to  all  those  who  have  seen  that  system  in 
operation  in  the  North  Island.  During  my  tour  in  that 
part  of  the  Colony  I visited  several  of  these  institutions. 
There  was  none  of  them  with  which  I was  so  highly 
pleased  as  with  the  select  boarding  school  established  at 
a place  called  Taumarere,  three  miles  distant  from 
Kawa  Kawa.  This  excellent  school  is  one  which  the 
Native  Department  may  well  feel  proud  of.  It  is  con- 
ducted by  Mrs.  Tautari,  than  whom  a more  accomplished 
mistress  is  not  in  the  service  of  the  Government.  Mr. 
Commissioner  Kemp  took  a great  interest  in  the  found- 
ing of  this  school,  and  in  a conversation  I had  with  him 
on  the  subject  he  was  exceedingly  pleased  to  find  that 
my  opinion  coincided  with  his  own  respecting  the  high- 
class  character  of  the  school  at  Taumarere.  There  are 
upwards  of  twenty  female  pupils  in  constant  attendance 
— Europeans,  Maoris,  and  half-castes.  Mrs.  Tautari 
obtains  from  the  Government  a certain  capitation  allow- 
ance, but  I do  not  consider  the  amount  anything  like 
adequate  remuneration  for  the  valuable  services  she 
renders  to  the  Native  Department.  She  imparts  to  the 
children  entrusted  to  her  care  an  excellent  English 


THE  SUGAR  AND  FLOUR”  POLICY 


287 


education,  besides  instrumental  music  and  singing  ; and 
Europeans  visiting  the  school  for  the  first  time  would 
be  surprised  to  see  how  far  advanced  several  of  the 
Maori  girls  are  in  the  latter  accomplishments.  Mrs. 
Tautari  is  assisted  by  a highly-cultured  governess,  Miss 
Copeland ; and  what  struck  me  very  much  was  the  entente 
cordiale  existing  between  the  mistress  and  her  assistant 
and  the  girls  under  their  charge.  In  point  of  discipline 
Mrs.  Tautari  is  necessarily  strict,  but  she  is  loved  by  all 
the  girls  on  account  of  her  kind  and  amiable  disposition. 
At  our  express  desire,  Mrs.  Tautari  assembled  her 
school  for  inspection,  with  a result  that  was  as  surprising 
to  ourselves  as  it  must  have  been  gratifying  to  her. 
Several  of  the  girls  sang  to  Miss  Copeland’s  accompani- 
ment, while  others  displayed  their  abilities  on  the 
pianoforte.  Part-singing  was  a prominent  feature  in 
the  programme,  and  the  choruses  were  sung  with 
marked  precision.  The  room  was  then  cleared,  and 
dancing  was  kept  up  with  spirit  for  an  hour  or  so.  The 
Maori  girls  and  half-castes  are  exceedingly  fond  of 
dancing  ; and  music,  too,  both  vocal  and  instrumental,  is 
another  of  their  specialities.  At  Mrs.  Tautari’s  estab- 
lishment they  are  also  instructed  in  household  duties,  in 
order  that  they  may  be  Europeanised  as  much  as 
possible,  and  in  all  respects  rendered  fit  to  become  the 
wives  of  settlers  in  the  country.  In  some  instances,  but 
I am  happy  to  say  few,  Mrs.  Tautari’s  exertions  are  in  a 
great  measure  lost,  in  consequence  of  some  of  the 
parents  at  a distance  taking  their  children  away  just  at 
the  time  when  their  progress  in  English  instruction 
gives  promise  of  very  satisfactory  results.  Some  Maori 
parents  do  not  sufhciently  appreciate  the  benefits 
derived  from  education,  and  if  their  children  go  home 
for  the  holidays,  they  do  not  allow  them  to  return  ; but 
instances  of  this  kind  are  exceptional.  Children  are 
sent  to  the  Taumarere  school  from  very  long  distances, 


288 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


on  account  of  the  high  reputation  it  enjoys,  and  the 
time  will  soon  arrive  when  a larger  schoolhouse  will 
require  to  be  erected.  A school  such  as  this  must  effect 
a wonderful  amount  of  good  in  establishing  a better 
understanding  between  the  two  races,  and  I think  the 
lady  who  is  instrumental  in  doing  this  is  clearly  entitled 
to  a sufficient  recompense  for  her  pains.  I trust,  there- 
fore, that  she  will  be  dealt  with  in  a liberal  spirit  by  the 
Native  Department.  There  are  several  other  schools  in 
the  northern  district — amongst  others  one  at  Te  Ti,  near 
the  mouth  of  the  Waitangi  river,  presided  over  by  Mrs. 
Hickson  ; another  at  Kaikohe,  under  the  direction  of  a 
Europeanised  Maori  named  Hirini  Taiwhanga — Hirini 
was  married  to  a European  wife  ; and  a third  (a  very 
creditable  establishment),  conducted  by  the  Misses 
Lundon,  at  the  Lower  Waihou,  on  the  Hokianga  river, 
a few  miles  below  Herd’s  Point.”  Then  follows  a list  of 
other  native  schools,  about  twenty  in  number,  open  at 
the  time  of  the  author’s  tour  through  the  northernmost 
portions  of  New  Zealand  in  1879. 

There  are  also  given  by  the  author  of  this  volume  in 
“ His  Island  Home  and  Away  in  the  Far  North”  some 
particulars  concerning  early  missionary  enterprise  in 
New  Zealand,  extracts  from  which  may  now  be  of 
interest : — “ On  our  way  down  from  the  Kawa  Kawa 
we  called  in  at  a small  settlement  named  Paihia,  where 
I observed  a monument  erected  in  front  of  the  church 
to  the  memory  of  the  late  Venerable  Archdeacon 
Williams.  Paihia  was  one  of  those  places  where  the 
Church  of  England  missionaries  established  themselves. 
In  fact,  the  Bay  of  Islands  was  the  first  scene  of  their 
labours,  for  it  was  on  December  22,  1814,  that  the 
Rev.  Samuel  Marsden  arrived  in  the  ship  Active 
and  anchored  off  Rangihoua  Tepuna,  just  inside  the 
north  head  of  the  Bay  of  Islands,  where  he  landed 
and  settled  Messrs,  Kendall,  Hall,  and  King,  the  first 


THE  SUGAR  AND  FLOUR"  POLICY  289 

missionaries.  On  Christmas  Day,  1814,  the  Rev.  Samuel 
Marsden  preached  there  for  the  first  time  the  Gospel 
in  New  Zealand,  which  was  interpreted  to  the  natives 
by  a chief  named  Ruatara,  who  had  been  to  England. 
The  text  was  very  appropriate,  being  Luke  ii.  10, 
‘ Behold  I bring  you  glad  tidings  of  great  joy,^  &c. 
In  August,  1819,  Mr.  Marsden  brought  Messrs.  Butler 
and  Kemp,  and  established  a mission  station  at  Keri- 
keri,  at  the  head  of  the  Kerikeri  river.  In  August, 
1823,  Mr.  Marsden  brought  the  Rev.  Henry  Williams 
and  family,  and  formed  the  mission  station  at  Paihia. 
On  January  25,  1826,  the  schooner  Herald,  the  first 
vessel  built  in  New  Zealand,  under  the  direction  of 
Mr.  Henry  Williams  (who  had  been  a lieutenant  in 
the  Royal  Navy)  was  launched  on  Paihia  beach,  and 
was  navigated  by  Mr.  Williams  to  Sydney,  where  he 
met  his  brother,  the  Rev.  William  Williams,  the  late 
Bishop  of  Waiapu,  on  his  way  to  New  Zealand,  and  on 
March  5th  in  the  same  year  they  arrived  together  in 
the  George  Osborne  and  landed  at  Paihia.  Bishop 
Selwyn  arrived  at  Paihia  on  June  20,  1842,  and  on 
the  following  Sunday,  to  the  surprise  of  everybody, 
his  Lordship  preached  a sermon  to  the  natives  in  the 
Maori  language,  of  which  he  had  become  a proficient 
master  on  the  voyage  out.  On  December  8,  1842,  at 
a time  of  the  greatest  apprehension  for  the  safety  of 
the  young  Colony,  consequent  on  the  murder  of  the 
Robinson  family  and  a half-caste  girl  (granddaughter 
of  the  chief  Rewa)  on  an  island  in  Paroa  Bay,  by 
Maketu,  a young  chief  of  noble  connection,  who  was 
hanged  for  the  crime  at  Auckland,  the  famous  helmet 
that  had  been  presented  by  King  George  the  Fourth 
to  Waikato,  a Ngapuhi  chief  residing  at  Tepuna,  was 
delivered  up  to  Mr.  Williams  as  a token  of  his  fidelity 
to  the  English,  just  before  the  great  meeting  at  Paihia, 
when  the  principal  Ngapuhi  chiefs,  with  the  exception 

20 


290 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


of  Hone  Heke  (who  withdrew)  signed  an  address  to 
Governor  Hobson  professing  their  allegiance.  . . . The 
Veil.  Archdeacon  Williams  died  at  his  residence  at 
Pakaraka  on  July  i6,  1867,  at  the  ripe  age  of  75 
years.  ...  I am  indebted  for  most  of  the  foregoing 
information  to  the  widow  of  the  Archdeacon,  who,  far 
advanced  in  years  (1879)  still  resides  at  Pakaraka.  . . . 
Mrs.  Williams  has  kept  a diary  with  great  regularity 
ever  since  her  arrival  in  New  Zealand  in  1823,  and  the 
journal  is  a most  interesting  one.  Many  things  recorded 
there  are  of  great  public  value.  ...  A great  many 
people  condemn  the  missionaries  and  declare  that  they 
have  done  more  mischief  than  good  in  the  country. 
On  that  subject  I shall  abstain  from  expressing  any 
opinion.  All  I know  is,  that  they  showed  great  pluck 
in  coming  to  New  Zealand  at  a time  when  cannibalism 
was  in  full  swing,  when  tribes  fought  against  tribes,  and 
the  survivors  devoured  the  bodies  of  the  slain.  ...  A 
little  distance  further  down  the  Bay  brought  us  to  a 
place  rendered  famous  in  the  history  of  New  Zealand. 
It  is  named  Waitangi,  and  here  it  was  that  the  Treaty 
of  Waitangi  was  signed  on  February  6,  1840,  in  a large 
marquee  a little  in  front  of  Mr.  Busby's  house.  The 
spot  is  unmarked,  but  Mr.  Busby  will  show  it  to  any 
one  visiting  his  homestead.  . . . The  celebrated  Darwin 
occupied  a room  in  Mr.  Busby's  house  when,  in  the 
capacity  of  naturalist,  he  visited  the  Bay  of  Islands 
many  years  ago  in  the  Beagled 

There  is  no  part  of  New  Zealand  so  full  of  historical 
associations  as  the  Bay  of  Islands.  It  was  there  that 
settlement  first  began  ; there  it  was  also  where  the 
conversion  of  the  Maoris  to  Christianity  was  first 
attempted,  and  it  was  the  scene  of  the  outbreak  of 
the  first  Maori  war.  The  British  troops  lost  heavily 
at  several  battles  fought  in  the  surrounding  country, 
especially  in  their  attack  upon  Hone  Heke's  strong- 


THE  SUGAR  AND  FLOUR"  POLICY  291 

hold  at  Ohaeawae,  where  the  old  trenches,  which  are 
still  visible,  bear  testimony  to  the  wonderful  skill  in 
warfare  displayed  by  the  Maoris  in  their  earliest 
conflicts  with  British  soldiers.  Internecine  strife  had 
previously  instructed  them  in  methods  of  attack  and 
defence,  and  enabled  them  to  inflict  such  serious  losses 
upon  the  troops  sent  against  them  during  Hone  Heke's 
war  of  1845.  After  their  subjugation  at  that  time  the 
conciliatory  policy  of  Sir  George  Grey  ensured  peace 
to  the  Colony  for  a lengthened  period,  and  his  native 
school  system  and  kindly  treatment  of  the  natives 
gained  their  confidence  and  esteem.  He  was  the  best 
friend  the  Maoris  ever  had,  and  was  very  popular 
amongst  them.  Kawana  Hori  Kerei  had  more  influ- 
ence with  the  Maori  people  than  any  other  European 
in  the  country  during  his  first  and  second  periods  of 
governorship  and  throughout  his  subsequent  private 
and  political  life,  and  if  the  policy  he  inaugurated  had 
been  adhered  to,  without  interference  by  persons  inside 
and  outside  the  Colony,  the  permanent  pacification  of 
the  Maoris  might  have  been  secured  after  the  first 
outbreak  had  been  put  down.  It  was  a bad  day  for 
the  Maori  people  when  he  was  transferred  to  Cape 
Colony,  and  they  felt  that  they  had  lost  a true 
friend,  because  they  knew  that  Sir  George  Grey  had 
their  best  interests  always  at  heart.  His  whole  career 
shows  that  he  was  exceptionally  gifted  in  the  manage- 
ment of  native  and  alien  races,  and  that  his  knowledge 
of  how  to  deal  with  them  was  superior  to  that  of  most 
other  men  in  the  positions  he  was  called  upon  to  fill  in 
South  Australia  and  New  Zealand  and  at  the  Cape. 
Such  is  the  tribute  now  paid  to  the  memory  of  this 
distinguished  statesman  and  pro-consul. 

Allied  to  the  “ sugar  and  flour  policy,  and  the 
system  of  presents  and  pensions  to  secure  the  good- 
will of  the  principal  native  chiefs,  was  the  proposal  to 


292 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


give  the  Maori  race  representation  in  both  Houses  of 
Parliament,  nominative  and  elective.  This  proposal 
was  given  effect  to,  and  Maoris  sat  in  Parliament  for 
the  first  time  in  1866.  The  author  believes  this  is  the 
only  instance  where  parliamentary  representation  has 
been  given  to  a native  race  in  any  self-governing  colony 
in  the  possession  of  Great  Britain. 

The  system  has  prevailed  till  this  day,  and,  as  it  is 
carried  out,  two  Maori  members  occupy  seats  in  the 
Upper  House  and  four  in  the  Lower,  the  Colony  being 
divided  into  four  Maori  electorates — three  in  the  North 
Island  and  one  in  the  Middle  Island,  the  preponder- 
ance being  given  to  the  former  because  of  its  very  much 
larger  native  population.  For  electing  their  representa- 
tives to  the  House,  adult  suffrage  is  given,  and  as  a rule 
the  elections  are  keenly  contested,  a whole  string  of 
candidates  generally  presenting  themselves  at  the  polls 
triennially  or  when  any  bye-election  takes  place.  Maori 
members  of  both  Houses  have  the  same  privileges  as 
European  members.  They  are  paid  the  same  salaries — 
^^"150  a year  in  the  Upper  House  and  £240  in  the 
Lower,  with  free  railway  passes  and  other  privileges — 
and  have  the  same  opportunities  afforded  them  to  take 
part  in  the  discussions.  Interpreters  sit  alongside  them 
for  that  purpose,  and  when  a Maori  member  rises  to 
speak  the  interpreter  rises  with  him  and  interprets  his 
speech  sentence  by  sentence.  Their  speeches  are 
reported  in  Hansard,  and  a special  Hansard  in  the 
Maori  language  is  also  issued  at  the  end  of  each 
session  for  circulation  amongst  the  Maori  people,  so 
that  they  may  read  what  their  members  have  been 
saying  during  their  absence  at  Wellington. 

Maori  representation  in  Parliament  was  a portion  of 
Sir  Donald  McLean's  scheme  to  conciliate  the  native 
race  after  the  termination  of  the  last  great  Maori  war, 
and  the  resuscitation  of  Sir  George  Grey's  system  of 


THE  SUGAR  AND  FLOUR"  POLICY  293 

native  schools  was  another  step  in  the  same  direction. 
Both  answered  their  purpose  to  some  extent  in  the  way 
of  establishing  better  relations  between  the  two  races, 
but  as  for  any  real  benefits  which  parliamentary  repre- 
sentation for  a long  time  conferred  upon  the  Maori 
people  it  was  very  questionable  whether  they  derived 
any  advantages  of  a material  kind  from  this  new 
departure  in  the  management  of  a subject  race  which 
was  taken  by  the  late  Sir  Donald  McLean  when  that 
gentleman  was  at  the  head  of  native  affairs  in  New 
Zealand.  It  is  true  they  could  express  their  views 
freely  upon  any  native  legislation  which  was  submitted, 
and  could  watch  and  scrutinise  the  passage  of  these 
measures  through  the  Native  Affairs  Committee  and 
afterwards  through  the  House  and  Legislative  Council  ; 
but  where  there  were  only  four  members  in  one  branch 
of  the  Legislature  and  two  in  the  other,  their  efforts  to 
have  these  measures  passed  as  they  would  like  to  were 
practically  of  little  avail.  Four  members  in  a House  of 
seventy-four — and  it  used  to  be  ninety-five~was  not  a 
proportion  which  was  capable  of  effecting  much,  and 
therefore  for  a considerable  period  it  was  impotent,  as 
a rule,  in  obtaining  what  the  native  people  really 
wanted. 

The  representation  of  the  Maori  race  in  the  New 
Zealand  Parliament  sometimes  brought  about  rather 
curious  developments.  Occasionally,  but  not  for  many 
years  past,  it  happened  that  European  parties  were  so 
equally  divided  that  the  Maori  members  actually  held 
the  balance  of  power  in  their  hands,  and  the  defeat  of  a 
Ministry  was  either  secured  or  averted  by  these  four 
votes.  Thus,  Governments  which  possessed  neither  the 
confidence  of  the  majority  of  European  members  nor  of 
the  country  were  able  to  retain  office  through  the  success 
of  their  negotiations  to  induce  the  Maori  members  to 
follow  them  into  the  Ministerial  lobby.  In  that  case 


294 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NFAV 


the  practical  outcome  was  that  these  four  votes,  repre- 
senting about  40,000  natives,  controlled  the  policy  and 
legislation  which  affected  over  700,000  Europeans.  It 
was  during  crises  of  this  character  that  the  Maori  vote 
became  an  important  factor  in  deciding  the  fate  of 
Ministries,  and  the  way  in  which  it  was  cast  depended 
upon  the  party  from  which  it  could  exact  the  best 
terms  and  the  side  which  it  could  look  to  with  most 
confidence  for  a fulfilment  of  its  promises.  It  was  when 
parties  were  so  unequally  divided  as  to  give  an  inde- 
pendent preponderance  upon  one  side  or  the  other  that 
the  native  vote  counted  for  little,  and  from  a Maori 
standpoint  was  practically  ineffective.  That  was  the 
case,  with  the  periodical  exceptions  referred  to,  for 
many  years  after  this  special  concession  was  granted  to 
them ; but  in  recent  years  they  have  been  holding 
Parliaments  of  their  own,  and  agitating  for  control  of 
their  own  affairs,  more  especially  in  regard  to  their 
lands ; and  last  session  a measure  was  passed  which 
conferred  upon  the  native  race  a considerable  measure 
of  home  rule.  They  have  displayed  undoubted  capacity 
for  the  management  of  their  own  concerns,  and  there  is 
every  reason  to  believe  that  they  will  make  the  best 
use  of  their  opportunities  in  that  direction.  They  have 
arrived  at  a stage  when  they  see  how  valuable  the 
possession  of  the  land  is  to  them,  and  are  not  likely  to 
part  with  any  more  of  it  except  on  fair  terms,  much  less 
to  dispose  of  it  indiscriminately  without  calculating  how 
much  it  is  necessary  to  retain  as  an  inalienable  heritage 
for  those  coming  after  them.  In  that  determination, 
and  in  the  absolute  suppression  of  the  drink  traffic 
amongst  them,  lies  the  only  hope  of  the  preservation 
of  the  Maori  race. 


CHAPTER  XXVII 


SIR  GEORGE  GREY  AND  HIS  ISLAND  — SIR  ROBERT 
STOUT,  MR.  BALLANCE,  SIR  JULIUS  VOGEL 

EW  ZEALAND  owes  a great  deal  to  Sir  George 


1 \ Grey.  He  was  unquestionably  the  most  dis- 
tinguished statesman  who  has  yet  been  connected  with 
that  Colony.  The  greatest  and  most  important  portion 
of  his  career  is  intimately  associated  with  it ; his  love 
for  it  was  strong  and  enduring  ; he  loved  its  people,  and 
they  worshipped  him.  Twice  its  Governor,  at  periods 
of  perplexity  and  even  peril,  his  skilful  and  humane 
statesmanship  brought  the  Colony  safely  through  the 
difficulties  which  beset  it,  and  laid  the  foundations  of 
that  peace,  prosperity,  and  progress  which  have  since 
made  New  Zealand  what  she  is  to-day.  No  man  had 
so  clear  an  insight  into  the  temperament,  disposition, 
and  requirements  of  the  native  inhabitants  as  Sir  George 
Grey ; he  recognised  their  rights,  and  strove  all  his 
might  to  make  that  recognition  the  groundwork  of 
colonial  policy  in  its  treatment  of  them.  In  this  desire 
to  solve  the  native  question  in  a way  fair  and  equitable 
to  both  races.  Sir  George  Grey  had  much  to  contend 
against ; inside  and  outside  influences  were  constantly 
employed  to  checkmate  his  plans ; he  was  too  pro- 
Maori  to  please  many  people  who  not  only  had  the  ear 
of  the  Colonial  Office,  but  had  power  also  with  the 


296 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


Colonial  Legislature,  and  exerted  that  power  to  neutralise 
his  efforts  in  what  Sir  George  Grey  honestly  believed  to 
be  the  true  solution  of  the  native  question.  If  he  did 
not  succeed  to  the  full  extent  he  could  have  wished,  it 
was  no  fault  of  Sir  George  Grey’s  ; still,  he  accomplished 
a great  deal  as  the  true  friend  and  protector  of  the 
Maori  people,  whose  gratitude  is  now  evidenced  by  the 
reverence  they  pay  to  the  memory  of  their  benefactor  ; 
and  viewed  in  the  light  of  subsequent  events,  it  is  much 
to  be  regretted  that  Sir  George  Grey  was  not  allowed  a 
free  hand  in  dealing  with  native  affairs  after  the  suppres- 
sion of  the  first  Maori  war. 

What  the  author  wrote  of  Sir  George  Grey  and  his 
island  in  1879  is  even  more  appropriate  of  that  dis- 
tinguished man  now  that  he  is  no  longer  of  this  earth. 
In  His  Island  Home  and  Away  in  the  Far  North,”  the 
author  wrote : — 

“ Years  hence,  when  the  present  generation  shall  have 
passed  away,  and  personal  and  political  prejudices  shall 
have  been  obliterated  by  the  lapse  of  time ; when  men 
can  calmly  review  the  history  and  associations  of  the 
past  with  intelligence  and  impartiality,  unmoved  by 
party  considerations  and  private  animosities,  then  must 
the  historian,  in  describing  the  principal  features  of  the 
land  he  lives  in,  devote  a considerable  portion  of  his 
descriptive  narrative  to  the  island  about  which  I have 
been  asked  to  furnish  a few  particulars  that  may  prove 
at  least  interesting,  if  not  instructive,  to  a very  large 
section  of  the  population  to  whom  the  Kawau,  except 
by  repute,  is  practically  unknown.  He  will  find  it 
incumbent  upon  him  to  do  this,  not  only  on  account  of 
the  manifold  natural  attractions  of  this  lovely  spot, 
which  Nature  has  endowed  so  copiously  with  her  most 
precious  gifts,  and  the  good  taste  and  wealth  of  our 
Premier  have  helped  to  beautify  and  make  more  lovely 
still,  but  because  there  is  associated  with  it  a name  that 


SIR  GEORGE  GREY  AND  HIS  ISLAND  297 

will  for  ever  hold  a prominent  place  in  the  history  of  the 
past,  so  long  as  New  Zealand  has  an  existence,  and  its 
records  are  preserved.  In  writing  this  sketch  it  is  not 
my  intention  to  refer  to  Sir  George  Grey  in  his  public 
and  political  capacity,  but  rather  to  speak  of  him  as  I 
found  him — a private  gentleman,  retired  after  the  fatigues 
and  turmoils  of  the  session  to  a place  which  for  loveli- 
ness is  not  to  be  surpassed,  nay,  equalled,  by  any  other 
which  it  has  been  my  good  fortune  to  visit  in  this 
Colony.  ...  I need  hardly  say  with  what  feelings  of 
pleasure  I accepted  an  invitation  to  visit  Kawau  ; and 
these  were  enhanced  when  I discovered  that  I should 
have  the  privilege  of  being  escorted  over  the  place  by 
its  owner,  and  by  him  shown  the  various  objects  most 
interesting  to  behold.  . . . 

“ On  our  starboard  side  lay  the  Kawau,  fringed  here 
and  there  by  bush  growing  down  to  the  water's  edge. 
Taking  a general  glance  at  the  island  as  we  passed  along 
its  shores,  we  could  not  help  being  strongly  impressed 
with  its  beauty  and  situation.  It  is  rather  hilly  than 
mountainous ; here  it  dips  into  the  ocean  in  the  form  of 
abrupt  cliffs,  and  at  other  points  terminates  in  a succes- 
sion of  gentle  slopes,  which  relieve  the  scene  of  all 
monotony.  The  surface  had  a very  emerald  appearance 
about  it  for  this  advanced  period  of  the  season,  and  we 
are  all  pleased  with  the  picture  presented  to  us.  We 
still  go  on,  finding  it  difficult  to  determine  which  is  the 
most  lovely  nook  that  discloses  itself  to  view,  when  with 
a suddenness  almost  magical  we  emerge  from  troubled 
waters,  and  find  ourselves  in  a beautiful  cove,  where  the 
surface  of  the  water  is  as  placid  as  a mill-pond.  The 
transformation  is  effected  so  rapidly  that  we  can  hardly 
realise  the  fact  that  but  a moment  before  we  were  being 
rudely  tossed  by  the  angry  billows  which  continue  to 
play  as  angrily  still  only  a cable's  length  from  where  we 
lie  in  smooth  water.  Overhead  there  is  not  a cloud  to 


298 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


be  seen ; the  sun  sends  forth  his  joyous  rays  with 
uninterrupted  brilliancy,  and  imparts  a truly  grand  and 
gladdening  effect  to  everything  around  us.  The  atmo- 
sphere is  pure  and  still ; the  water  beneath  us  composed 
and  transparent ; the  distant  islands  clothed  with  a 
beautiful  bluish  tint ; the  land  in  front  and  on  both 
sides  of  us  decked  out  in  its  gayest  holiday  attire. 
There  is  an  air  of  calm  serenity  and  repose  about  the 
place  which  is  peculiarly  fascinating,  and,  resist  the 
inclination  as  we  may,  the  mind  is  disposed  to  travel 
back  into  the  distant  past,  to  the  days  of  our  boyhood 
when  tales  and  pictures  of  fairyland  formed  our  sole 
literary  treasures.  The  ripple  on  the  shore  is  scarcely 
loud  enough  to  be  perceptible,  and  the  continual  buzzing 
of  the  locusts,  which  tells  us  it  is  summer,  and  the  sing- 
ing of  native  and  imported  birds,  are  the  only  sounds 
which  disturb  the  reigning  tranquillity.  Large  native 
trees  overhang  the  shores  and  rear  themselves  in  majestic 
stateliness  to  the  hill-tops  which  overshadow  the  cove 
into  which  we  have  been  conducted  as  if  by  some  magic 
agency.  The  lark  is  already  sending  forth  its  joyous 
notes,  and  the  birds  indigenous  to  the  island  and  those 
which  its  owner  has  imported,  vie  with  each  other  as 
though  they  were  engaged  in  a competitive  chorus  for 
supremacy.  The  gentle  zephyr  there  is  wafts  to  us 
from  the  shore  scents  of  the  richest  fragrance,  and  our 
delight  at  the  whole  prospect  is  unbounded.  Gaze 
where  we  may,  there  is  something  to  please  and  interest 
us,  something  to  enlist  our  admiration.  At  the  toe  of 
the  horse-shoe,  which  in  shape  best  describes  the  natural 
formation  of  the  cove,  a nice  sandy  beach  forms  the 
foreground.  Behind  this  beach,  on  which  stands  a well- 
appointed  boat-shed,  are  magnificent  gardens,  in  the 
midst  of  which  the  residence  of  Sir  George  Grey  rears 
its  stately  dimensions.  The  picture  is  rendered  com- 
plete by  the  rich  curtain  of  foliage  which  surrounds  it, 


SIR  GEORGE  GREY  AND  HIS  ISLAND  299 

and  the  undulating  space  in  the  background,  on  which 
the  tall  English  grass  rolls  wavelike  submissively  to  the 
gentle  breeze.  This  clearing  is  surmounted  by  several 
native  trees  and  pines  of  various  descriptions,  which 
have  been  planted  in  such  positions  as  to  produce  a 
most  artistic  effect.  Viewed  from  the  deck  of  the 
Hinemoa^  the  whole  scene  presented  a coup  d'ceil  of 
most  enchanting  magnificence,  to  which  it  would  require 
the  descriptive  powers  of  a Sir  Walter  Scott  or  a 
Lamartine  to  do  ample  justice. 

‘‘  Many  months  had  elapsed  since  Sir  George  Grey 
had  been  to  Kawau,  and  on  shore  there  were  evident 
indications  of  joy  at  his  return.  . . . Acting  as  our 
guide,  Sir  George  Grey  showed  us  over  his  residence, 
which  is  a truly  beautiful  mansion,  built  of  permanent 
materials,  the  rooms  large,  lofty,  and  cheerful,  admirably 
furnished,  and  the  walls  hung  with  paintings  of  great 
antiquity  and  value.  Once  again  in  the  open  air,  we 
followed  Sir  George  in  our  excursion  through  the 
grounds  and  gardens  surrounding  his  residence.  These 
are  replete  with  the  choicest  shrubs  and  plants  ; there  is 
hardly  a country  under  heaven  from  whence  Sir  George 
has  not  obtained  a plant  of  some  kind  or  other,  and  they 
are  now  all  to  be  seen  growing  at  Kawau  with  as  much 
health  and  vigour  as  though  they  were  indigenous  to 
the  soil.  For  variety  of  colour  and  species  I have  never 
seen  anything  to  equal  the  flower-beds  at  Kawau,  which 
struck  me  as  being  remarkably  well  cared  for.  As  the 
gardens  are  encompassed  by  hills,  except  on  the  harbour 
side,  they  are  well  protected  from  the  prevailing  winds, 
and  the  soil  being  good  and  warm,  every  delicacy  is  fit 
for  the  table  many  weeks  before  they  make  their 
appearance  in  the  South.  As  I passed  through  the 
gardens,  finding  so  much  to  rivet  my  attention,  it  was 
rather  difficult  to  say  what  pleased  me  most,  until  I 
came  to  the  orange  and  lemon  trees,  which  thrive  here 


300 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


to  astonishing  perfection,  bearing  latitudinal  considera- 
tions in  mind.  The  trees  were  laden  with  fruit,  and  Sir 
George  told  his  visitors  to  help  themselves  freely  to  it. 
The  summer  oranges  were  very  large,  but  tasted  some- 
what bitter  compared  with  those  we  get  from  Fiji  ; but 
a finer  fruit  than  the  lemons  I pulled  at  Kawau,  alike  as 
to  size  and  flavour,  I have  never  seen.  Any  of  them 
would  make  two  or  three  of  the  ordinary  lemons  which 
people  buy  in  the  shops.  From  the  gardens,  by  a series 
of  zigzag  pathways.  Sir  George  conducted  us  to  spots  on 
the  island  from  which  some  splendid  views  could  be 
obtained,  and  in  the  course  of  our  progress  we  could  not 
help  reflecting  on  how  bountiful  Nature  had  been  to  this 
gem  of  the  Southern  Pacific,  and  how  much  art  had 
done  to  adorn  Nature  with  the  lovely  mantle  she  now 
wears  so  gracefully  at  the  Kawau.  . . . Our  verdict  is 
unanimous  as  to  the  beauty  and  serenity  of  the  whole 
scene,  as  the  eye  wanders  over  hill  and  dale,  over  beauti- 
fully undulating  slopes  and  meadow  land,  and  rests  on 
the  surrounding  waters  of  the  Pacific,  which  lend  a 
majestic  charm  to  the  whole  picture,  as  seen  through  the 
rows  of  lofty  pines  which  stand  between  us  and  the 
ocean. 

Those  who  have  the  honour  of  a personal  acquaint- 
ance with  Sir  George  Grey  can  see  at  once  that  he  is  an 
extensively  read  man,  well  versed  in  every  department 
of  literature.  His  knowledge  of  men  and  books  is  not 
of  that  superficial  kind  which  begets  pedantry,  but  is 
deep,  penetrating,  and  reliable.  Like  most  really  well- 
learned  men,  he  does  not  bore  you  with  a display  of  his 
superior  learning  and  intelligence  ; but  to  him  a literary 
conversation  is  at  all  times  irresistible,  and  he  will  join 
in  it  with  the  ardour  of  an  enthusiast.  He  is  brimful  of 
anecdote,  and  crop  up  what  subject  there  may,  you  will 
hear  from  him  something  that  is  always  d propos^  and 
either  instructive  or  amusing,  according  to  the  nature  of 


SIR  GEORGE  GREY  AND  HIS  ISLAND 


301 


the  matter  under  discussion.  To  a man  of  such  strong 
literary  tastes  a good  library  is  an  absolute  necessity. 
This  essential  is  also  to  be  found  at  Kawau,  and  Sir 
George  can  with  truth  declare  that  he  possesses  the 
finest  private  library  in  the  Colony.  It  contains,  not  one 
or  two,  but  dozens  of  works  which  the  British  Museum 
would  like  to  have,  besides  a number  of  original  manu- 
scripts of  which  facsimiles  even  do  not  exist.  There 
you  will  see  the  handiwork  of  the  monks  done  centuries 
ago,  long  before  Caxton  had  discovered  the  art  of  print- 
ing. You  take  up  the  ponderous  volumes  one  after 
another,  and  as  you  turn  over  the  leaves  and  trace  the 
marvellous  uniformity  of  the  characters : as  you  pause 
in  breathless  admiration  of  the  brilliancy  of  the  illumina- 
tions which  ages  have  not  sufficed  to  tarnish  or  make 
dim,  or  behold  with  reverential  eyes  the  artistic  illustra- 
tions with  which  the  pages  abound,  you  wonder  at  the 
patience  with  which  these  holy  men  must  have  laboured, 
at  the  time  it  must  have  taken  to  produce  these  works, 
and  feel  how  deeply  grateful  succeeding  generations 
ought  to  be  to  men  who  have  done  so  much  to  promote 
the  cause  of  learning  and  to  preserve  our  literature. 
You  restore  these  volumes  reluctantly  to  their  shelves, 
and  take  down  one  of  the  very  first  books  issued  from 
Caxton's  printing  press,  which  is,  of  course,  a curiosity 
worth  seeing.  You  afterwards  trace  the  improvements 
made  in  printing  by  an  examination  of  several  most 
valuable  works  issued  from  the  press  at  various  dates 
from  the  discovery  of  the  art  down  to  the  present  day. 
The  library  comprises  all  kinds  of  literature,  and  the 
linguist  will  find  in  it  ample  materials  wherewith  to 
while  away  the  time.  Leaving  the  books,  which  are  far 
too  numerous  for  systematic  examination.  Sir  George 
next  showed  me  a large  portfolio  containing  many 
original  manuscripts  of  the  Cromwellian  period  of  almost 
incalculable  value,  amongst  others  several  letters  written 


302  AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 

by  Sir  Philip  Meadovves  and  the  poet  Milton.  A little 
book  has  recently  been  issued,  which  alleges  that  a 
certain  epitaph  written  by  Milton  has  only  just  been 
discovered  ; but  on  making  a comparison  of  the  fac- 
simile of  the  original  with  the  handwriting  of  Sir  Philip 
Meadowes  in  his  possession,  Sir  George  Grey  arrived  at 
the  conclusion  that  the  authorship  of  the  epitaph  had 
been  wrongly  attributed  to  the  immortal  poet.  To 
myself  and  the  gentleman  who  accompanied  me  on  my 
visit  to  the  library.  Sir  George  pointed  out  the  great 
similarity  existing  between  the  facsimile  of  the  epitaph 
and  the  handwriting  of  Sir  Philip  Meadowes ; we 
examined  the  formation  of  the  characters  with  a critical 
scrutiny  by  means  of  a powerful  glass,  and  arrived  at 
the  same  conclusion  as  Sir  George — that  there  were 
general  and  particular  proofs  by  the  comparison  we 
made  that  the  epitaph  was  written,  not  by  the  Latin 
secretary  (Milton),  but  by  the  general  secretary  of  the 
Commonwealth,  Sir  Philip  Meadowes.  Other  manu- 
scripts equally  interesting  were  brought  under  our 
notice,  and  our  only  regret  was  that  time  would  not 
permit  of  a more  lengthened  inspection.  Sir  George 
Grey  has  maintained  a correspondence  with  many  of 
the  greatest  statesmen  and  scholars  of  the  day,  and 
when  the  time  comes  that  no  objection  can  be  raised 
against  the  publication  of  the  letters  which  his  library 
contains,  the  public  will  reap  a great  advantage  by 
having  the  collection  submitted  to  them  for  perusal. 
I noticed  quite  a heap  of  letters  which  Sir  George  Grey 
had  received  from  Dr.  Livingstone,  and  these  will  no 
doubt  hereafter  prove  of  intense  interest,  as  affording  an 
insight  into  the  motives  and  aspirations  of  the  greatest 
of  modern  explorers.  Before  leaving  the  library  I ran 
my  eye  casually  along  the  shelves  containing  hundreds 
of  volumes  of  general  modern  literature,  and  I pulled 
out  a book  which  appeared  to  be  most  expensively  and 


SIR  GEORGE  GREY  AND  HIS  ISLAND  303 

elaborately  bound.  It  was  entitled/ The  Early  Years 
of  the  Prince  Consort/  and  on  opening  it  I discovered 
that  the  volume  had  been  presented  to  Sir  George 
Grey  by  her  Most  Gracious  Majesty,  that  fact  being 
recorded  in  the  Queen’s  own  handwriting.  A visitor  to 
the  Kawau  could  spend  quite  a month  in  the  library,  and 
by  the  end  of  that  time  he  would  find  that  he  had  not 
exhausted  all  the  objects  of  interest  and  curiosity  which 
it  contains,  and  which  must  contribute  in  no  small 
degree  to  make  a sojourn  at  the  Kawau  particularly 
instructive  and  agreeable. 

“ The  area  of  Kawau  is  between  five  and  six  thousand 
acres.  The  island  was  originally  Crown-granted  to  an 
Aberdeen  company,  who  for  several  years  worked  the 
copper  mines  there,  and  the  locality  of  their  operations 
is  plainly  visible  as  you  pass  along  the  southern  shore 
of  the  island.  Kawau  contains  a variety  of  minerals, 
including  gold,  specks  of  which  are  to  be  found  almost 
everywhere,  but  the  precious  metal  does  not  exist  in 
payable  quantities.  Copper  ore  is  abundant,  and  in 
reply  to  my  question  as  to  why  he  did  not  work  it.  Sir 
George  told  me  that  he  had  no  desire  to  see  mining 
going  on  and  the  privacy  of  his  island  home  disturbed. 
Sir  George  Grey  purchased  the  island  from  the  Aberdeen 
Company,  and  about  eleven  years  have  now  elapsed 
since  he  first  took  up  his  residence  there.  In  purchasing 
Kawau  Sir  George  Grey  was  instigated  by  motives  of 
a purely  philanthropic  character.  It  was  his  intention 
to  convert  it  into  a kind  of  acclimatisation  depot  for  the 
introduction  of  foreign  plants,  animals,  and  birds  for 
subsequent  distribution  throughout  the  Colony.  He 
incurred  a considerable  expense  in  this  direction,  and 
in  his  early  efforts  he  was  even  more  successful  than  he 
believed  he  could  be.  A large  number  of  foreign  plants, 
birds,  and  animals  were  accordingly  introduced  to  the 
Kawau,  and  to  the  acclimatising  exertions  of  Sir  George 


304  AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 

Grey  the  Colony,  and  more  especially  the  northern 
portion  of  it,  is  in  no  small  degree  indebted  for  a great 
deal  of  the  game  and  rare  plants  which  it  now  contains. 
Deer  stalk  over  the  Kawau  at  the  present  day,  and  game  of 
various  kinds  abounds  upon  it  in  all  directions ; the 
waters  which  encompass  it  are  alive  with  fish  of  all  sorts, 
and  oysters  cling  to  the  rocks  in  millions,  not  more  than 
a hundred  paces  from  where  Sir  George  resides.  The 
gardens  surrounding  the  mansion  produce  most  luscious 
fruits — all  combining  to  make  the  Kawau  what  it  really 

is,  an  earthly  paradise.  With  such  attractions  as  these 
it  is  little  wonder  that  Sir  George  Grey  should  take 
up  his  abode  at  the  Kawau,  for  here  indeed  one  could 
retire  without  regret,  and  live  at  peace  with  all  mankind. 

“ There  are  no  fewer  than  three  harbours  leading  into 

it,  in  all  of  which  there  is  deep  water  and  excellent 
shelter  for  the  small  sailing  traders  which  frequently 
take  refuge  there.  . . . The  Kawau  is  not  the  solitude 
which  some  people  imagine  it  is.  There  are,  generally 
speaking,  from  eighty  to  one  hundred  inhabitants  on 
the  island,  including  the  wives  and  families  of  those  to 
whom  Sir  George  Grey  gives  employment  during  the 
year.  Their  cottages  are  dotted  all  over  the  island,  and 
each  family  has  a patch  of  its  own  to  cultivate  for  its 
particular  use.  The  residents  of  the  island  are  a 
happy  and  contented  lot  of  people,  and  they  all  appear 
to  have  a deep  regard  and  affection  for  Sir  George.  The 
monotony  of  their  lives  is  relieved  by  a series  of  enter- 
tainments, which  are  held  once  a week,  and  these 
terminate  with  a dance,  in  which  all  take  part  as  though 
they  were  one  happy  family.  They  are  at  liberty  to 
invite  the  settlers  on  the  mainland  to  these  entertain- 
ments, and  the  latter  return  the  compliment  by  inviting 
their  Kawau  friends  occasionally  to  similar  entertain- 
ments on  the  opposite  shore.  There  are  many  children 
who  have  been  born  on  the  island  and  have  never  yet 


SIR  GEORGE  GREY  AND  HIS  ISLAND 


305 


left  it.  They  think  a great  deal  of  their  native  place,  as 
an  anecdote  which  Sir  George  related  to  me  will  show. 
It  is  Sir  George’s  custom  on  fete  days  to  invite  the 
citizens  of  Auckland  to  visit  Kawau,  and  hundreds  avail 
themselves  of  the  opportunity.  The  influx  of  so  many 
people  of  course  arouses  the  curiosity  of  the  Kawau 
youth,  and  leaves  various  impressions  on  their  minds. 
It  was  on  one  fine  morning,  shortly  after  a visitation  of 
this  kind,  that  Sir  George  was  proceeding  up  one  of 
the  roads  leading  to  the  high  ground.  A little  boy, 
who  walked  before  him  at  some  distance,  suddenly 
stopped  as  if  to  take  an  admiring  survey  of  the  whole 
scene,  and  as  soon  as  Sir  George  reached  the  point 
where  he  was  standing  the  boy  exclaimed,  ‘ Oh,  Sir 
George,  what  a beautiful  place  our  island  is  ! ’ as  though 
he  had  a partnership  interest  in  it.  ‘ What  makes  you 
think  so  ? ’ Sir  George  demanded.  ‘ Because,’  readily 
answered  the  , boy,  ‘so  many  people  come  to  see  our 
place  and  we  never  go  to  see  theirs.’  There  was  so 
much  innocent  reasoning  in  what  the  boy  said,  and  such 
an  apparent  feeling  of  contentment  with  his  island 
habitation  in  the  sentiments  he  uttered,  that  the  lad’s 
words  will  never  be  forgotten  by  him  to  whom  they 
were  addressed. 

“The  Kawau  for  the  most  part  is  laid  down  in 
English  grass,  and  about  2,000  sheep  depasture  upon 
it,  besides  a number  of  cattle.  A portion  of  the  land  is 
cultivated  every  year,  and  a sufficient  quantity  of  corn, 
potatoes,  turnips,  carrots,  &c.,  grown  to  meet  the 
requirements  of  those  living  on  the  island.  The  cause 
of  education  has  not  been  neglected  at  Kawau.  . . . 

“ Sir  George  Grey,  during  a sojourn  at  the  Kawau, 
has  plenty  of  material  at  disposal  to  occupy  his 
mind  and  attention.  He  is  an  early  riser,  and  frequently 
indulges  in  long  rambles  through  the  island.  He  takes 
a personal  interest  and  pride  in  everything  that  goes  on 


3o6 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


in  the  shape  of  improvements,  and  exercises  a sort  of 
general  supervision  over  them,  offering  suggestions  to 
his  workmen,  and  at  other  times  giving  way  to  them  in 
matters  as  to  which  he  supposes  they  ought  to  know 
better  than  himself.  A great  deal  of  his  time  is  occupied 
in  his  library  and  in  the  inditing  of  private  corre- 
spondence which  has  fallen  into  arrears  by  reason  of  the 
demands  of  public  duty.  At  home,  he  is  in  all  respects 
the  true  type  of  an  English  gentleman — kind,  hos- 
pitable, and  considerate.  His  love  of  children  is 
proverbial,  and  there  is  no  nurse  living  whose  tongue 
can  command  so  many  nursery  rhymes. 

“ When  I now  sit  down  to  write  this  hurried  sketch  of 
the  Kawau,  and  what  came  under  my  observation 
during  my  visit,  I am  puzzled  to  understand  how  any 
human  being  can  give  up  the  repose  that  is  to  be  found 
there  in  exchange  for  the  cares  and  troubles  inseparable 
from  active  public  life.  Politics  may  have  their  attrac- 
tions, but  to  my  mind  the  amount  of  happiness  to  be 
derived  from  a residence  at  this  sublunary  paradise  far 
outweighs  all  other  considerations.” 

Such  was  Kawau  when  the  author  visited  the  island 
in  1879.  Sir  George  Grey  was  then  Premier  of  New 
Zealand. 

After  his  second  term  of  office  as  Governor,  Sir 
George  Grey  proceeded  to  England,  but  did  not  remain 
long  in  the  Old  Country.  He  returned  to  New  Zealand, 
so  great  was  his  love  of  the  Colony,  with  the  intention 
of  retiring  into  private  life  for  the  rest  of  his  days.  He 
therefore  sought  the  seclusion  of  Kawau,  but  was  not 
allowed  to  remain  long  there  without  being  asked  to 
enter  the  arena  of  politics.  The  people  of  Auckland 
brought  strong  pressure  to  bear  upon  him,  and  at  last 
he  consented  to  become  a candidate  for  that  city  in  the 
House  of  Representatives.  Of  course  he  was  elected  ; 
and  thus  the  unusual  spectacle  was  presented  of  one 


SIR  GEORGE  GREY  AND  HIS  ISLAND  307 

who  had  been  its  Governor  becoming  a member  of  the 
representative  branch  of  the  Colony's  Legislature.  He 
soon  showed  that  he  was  the  greatest  orator  within  its 
walls,  and  the  House  and  galleries  were  always  packed 
when  it  was  known  that  he  was  to  speak. 

Sir  George  Grey's  entry  into  active  politics  had  the 
effect  of  strengthening  and  consolidating  the  Liberal 
party,  which  had  a very  precarious  and  impotent 
existence  before  he  assumed  the  leadership  of  it.  The 
Conservatives  had  it  all  their  own  way,  but  Sir  George 
Grey  infused  new  life  and  vigour  into  the  Liberal  ranks. 
He  had  as  lieutenants  such  men  as  Mr.  Stout,  Mr. 
Ballance,  and  Mr.  Sheehan,  and  the  party  grew  so 
strong  that  in  1877  it  was  able  to  turn  out  the  Ministry 
and  to  take  its  place  on  the  Treasury  Benches.  Sir 
George  Grey's  Ministry  lasted  until  1879,  when  the 
Conservatives  had  another  turn  at  the  helm,  under  the 
Premiership  of  Sir  John  Hall,  until  the  21st  of  April, 
1882.  Sir  Frederick  Whittaker  became  Premier  on  that 
date,  and  was  succeeded  on  the  25th  of  September,  1883, 
by  Sir  Harry  Atkinson,  but  the  Ministries  of  which  Sir 
John  Hall,  Sir  Frederick  Whittaker,  and  Sir  Harry 
Atkinson  were  successive  Premiers  from  1879  to  1884 
were  Conservative  Ministries.  The  Stout-Vogel  Ministry 
assumed  office  on  the  i6th  of  August,  1884,  but  only 
lasted  until  the  28th  of  the  same  month,  when  it  was 
succeeded  by  Sir  Harry  Atkinson,  whose  new  Cabinet 
only  survived  until  the  3rd  of  September.  Thus  three 
Ministries  had  been  turned  out  of  office  between  the  i6th 
of  August  and  the  3rd  of  September,  1884,  less  than 
a month,  so  hard  and  determined  was  the  struggle  at 
that  time  between  the  Liberal  and  Conservative  parties. 
The  Liberal  Party  won,  and  the  Stout-Vogel  Ministry 
came  into  power  on  the  3rd  of  September,  1884,  and 
kept  in  office  until  the  8th  of  October,  1887.  On  that 
date  Sir  Harry  Atkinson  again  assumed  the  reins  of 


3o8 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


office,  as  the  result  of  an  appeal  to  the  constituencies, 
and  he  was  Premier  until  the  24th  of  January,  1891. 
The  general  election  of  1890  brought  Mr.  Ballance  into 
power  with  an  overwhelming  majority.  Sir  Robert 
Stout  had  been  out  of  politics  in  the  meantime, 
and  abstained  from  presenting  himself  at  the  1890 
elections  in  order  that  his  great  personal  and  political 
friend,  Mr.  Ballance,  might  obtain  his  well-earned 
reward  of  the  Premiership.  But  if  Sir  Robert  Stout 
kept  out  of  active  participation  in  politics,  he  continued 
to  exercise  great  influence  upon  the  course  of  events, 
and  cheerfully  rendered  his  old  friend  and  colleague, 
Mr.  Ballance,  every  assistance  in  forming  the  policy  of 
that  gentleman's  Administration.  The  result  of  their 
consultations  was  that  a most  attractive  programme  was 
submitted  to  the  electors.  It  was  far  more  liberal  than 
anything  that  had  ever  been  placed  before  them  ; it  was  a 
statesmanlike  and  well-constructed  policy  which  bore  the 
hall-mark  of  true  Liberalism  upon  it,  and  the  result  was 
that  Mr.  Ballance  and  his  followers  swept  the  country. 
His  was  the  truest  Liberalism  compared  with  the  shoddy 
samples  of  it  which  have  been  presented  since  his 
untimely  death,  and  it  is  scandalous  to  find  that  other 
people  are  constantly  taking  credit  for  the  reforms 
which  he  foreshadowed  at  the  1890  elections,  and 
proceeded  to  give  effect  to  one  after  another  until  his 
death  on  the  27th  of  April,  1893.  Mr.  Ballance  was  a 
statesman  beloved  by  the  people,  and  the  splendid 
statue  to  his  memory  erected  in  Wangauni  testifies  the 
hold  he  had  upon  the  public  heart.  It  was  to  him  far 
more  than  to  those  who  have  succeeded  him  that  the 
people  of  New  Zealand  owe  most  of  the  great  reforms, 
at  all  events  the  best  of  them,  that  have  been  brought 
about  in  that  Colony,  and  it  is  shameful  to  find  other 
people  claiming  the  credit  of  conferring  benefits  upon 
the  Colony  which  are  the  outcome  of  the  programme 


SIR  GEORGE  GREY  AND  HIS  ISLAND  309 

which  Mr.  Ballance  carried  out  in  part,  and  would  have 
continued  to  completion  had  he  lived  long  enough. 

True  Liberalism  in  New  Zealand  will  always  be  asso- 
ciated with  the  names  of  Sir  George  Grey,  Sir  Robert 
Stout,  and  Mr.  Ballance — statesmen  all  of  them — and 
not  with  the  opportunist  politicians  without  constructive 
ability  who  have  since  come  into  prominence.  Their 
bluster  and  self-advertising  has  served  them  for  a long 
while,  but  there  will  be  an  end  of  it  some  day,  and  then 
we  shall  see  public  and  political  life  in  New  Zealand 
restored  to  something  like  its  old  form,  and  true  Liberal- 
ism take  the  place  of  that  sham  democracy  which  has 
been  productive  of  some  of  the  worst  features  of 
political  corruption  and  tammanyism,  as  everybody 
knows  who  has  watched  the  progress  of  events  in  that 
Colony. 

There  is  one  other  name  besides  those  of  Sir  George 
Grey,  Sir  Robert  Stout,  and  Mr.  Ballance  which  will 
always  be  associated  with  New  Zealand  prosperity  and 
progress:  it  is  that  of  Sir  Julius  Vogel,  whose  public 
works  and  immigration  policy  gave  it  a great  push 
onward.  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  Sir  Julius  Vogel  did 
not  adhere  strictly  to  his  original  scheme  ; but  it  must 
not  be  forgotten  that  there  were  ten  millions  of  money 
to  be  scrambled  for,  and  the  result  was  that  ‘‘  political  ’’ 
railways  and  other  works  were  put  in  hand  which  ought 
never  to  have  been  undertaken  because  of  their  certain 
unproductiveness.  It  mattered  not  who  was  in  office, 
political  pressure  in  this  respect  would  have  been 
irresistible  when  there  were  so  many  people  in  Parlia- 
ment who  placed  personal  and  local  advantages  above 
Colonial  interests,  and  exerted  themselves  to  that  end  as 
long  as  there  were  borrowed  millions  to  be  voted  from 
year  to  year.  It  would  have  been  a wise  provision, 
under  the  circumstances,  if  the  expenditure  of  that 
money  had  been  removed  from  Parliamentary  appro- 


310  AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 

priation  and  placed  in  the  hands  of  a Board  of  Works 
which  would  have  been  beyond  the  reach  of  political 
influence  and  control.  As  it  was,  large  sums  were 
frittered  away  upon  works  of  an  unreproductive  cha- 
racter, and  to  that  extent  the  administration  of  the 
scheme  was  unsatisfactory,  costly  to  the  country,  and 
burthensome  to  the  general  body  of  taxpayers. 

There  are  two  institutions  for  the  founding  of  which 
Sir  Julius  Vogel  deserved  the  Colony’s  best  thanks  : the 
Post  Office  Savings  Bank  and  the  Government  Life 
Insurance  Department.  Both  of  these  encouraged  great 
thrift  amongst  the  people,  and  have  been  successful  to 
an  astonishing  degree,  as  anybody  will  find  who  takes 
the  trouble  to  inquire  into  the  operations  of  both  de- 
partments. To  show  this  it  is  only  necessary  to  state 
here  that  at  the  end  of  1898  the  total  number  of 
accounts  open  at  the  Government  Post  Office  Savings 
Banks  was  169,968  ; that  the  deposits  during  that  year 
amounted  to  ;^3, 279,61 1 ; the  withdrawals  to  ^3,191,893, 
the  excess  of  deposits  over  withdrawals  being  ^684,7 17. 
The  total  sum  standing  at  the  credit  of  all  accounts 
on  December  31,  1898,  was  ;64,957,77i  5s.  5d.,  which 
gave  an  average  of  £2g  3s.  5d.  to  the  credit  of  each 
account. 

Then  as  to  the  Government  Life  Insurance  Depart- 
ment, at  the  end  of  1898  there  were  37,848  policies  in 
force,  and  the  sum  assured  amounted  to  ^^9, 304,742. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 


MR.  BALLANCE  AS  PREMIER — HIS  LIBERAL  POLICY — 
CREATION  OF  A LABOUR  DEPARTMENT — LAND  FOR 
THE  PEOPLE— STATE  ASSISTANCE  TO  SETTLERS 

HE  defeat  of  the  Conservatives  in  1890  and  the 


X overthrow  of  Sir  Harry  Atkinson's  Government 
was  easily  accounted  for.  Prior  to  that  time  successive 
Governments  neglected  almost  everything  in  the  shape 
of  domestic  and  social  legislation.  The  unemployed 
question  was  one  that  was  frequently  cropping  up,  but 
no  Government  had  as  yet  attempted  to  deal  with  it 
except  by  temporary  expedients  in  the  shape  of  what 
were  called  relief  works.  The  cry  of  ‘‘  unemployed  " 
was  a constantly  recurring  one,  but  the  Conservatives 
seemed  either  unwilling  or  incapable  of  suggesting  a 
remedy.  Then  came  the  great  maritime  strike  of  1890, 
and  feeling  against  Sir  Harry  Atkinson's  Government 
was  very  strong.  The  result  was  that  at  the  General 
Election  of  that  year,  the  Government  was  defeated  by 
an  overwhelming  majority,  and  Mr.  Ballance  took  office 
on  the  24th  of  January,  1891,  as  leader  of  the  Labour- 
Liberal  party.  It  was  a part  of  Mr.  Ballance's  policy 
to  deal  with  the  labour  question  without  delay,  and  he 
therefore  determined  to  establish  a Labour  Department, 
with  a Minister  of  Labour  at  the  head  of  it.  In  June, 
1891,  that  Department  was  created,  and  Mr.  W.  P. 


31^ 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


Reeves,  the  present  Agent-General  for  the  Colony,  was 
the  Minister  upon  whom  the  new  portfolio  was  con- 
ferred. Mr.  Reeves  had  identified  himself  very  consider- 
ably with  labour  interests,  and  had  complained  bitterly 
that  the  industrial  classes  had  been  scandalously  neg- 
lected by  successive  Administrations  and  Parliaments. 
Consequently,  it  was  considered  that  no  better  selection 
could  have  been  made,  and  Mr.  Reeves  justified  the 
confidence  reposed  in  him  by  the  general  mass  of  the 
people.  Labour  enactments  followed  in  rapid  succes- 
sion, and  besides  this  the  Labour  Department  became  a 
real  live  and  useful  institution  of  the  State.  While  Mr. 
Ballance  lived  and  Mr.  Reeves  remained  at  the  head 
of  this  Labour  Department,  an  immense  amount  of 
good  was  done  on  behalf  of  the  industrial  classes ; but, 
after  Mr.  Ballance’s  death  and  Mr.  Reeves’  departure 
for  London,  abuses  soon  manifested  themselves,  and  it 
is  therefore  much  to  be  regretted  that  Mr.  Reeves  did 
not  continue  to  control  the  Labour  Department,  as  he 
would  never  have  permitted  the  scandalous  use  that  has 
since  been  made  of  it  for  political  purposes.  These 
abuses  will  be  referred  to  later  on. 

Another  great  reform  introduced  by  Mr.  Ballance  was 
that  of  the  Land  Laws.  The  main  principle  of  his 
policy  was  “ the  land  for  the  people,”  or  State  owner- 
ship of  the  soil,  with  a perpetual  tenancy  in  the  occupier, 
and  the  restriction  in  area  of  the  land  which  any  one 
individual  might  hold.  Under  the  Land  Act  of  1892, 
most  of  the  Crown  lands  are  now  disposed  of  under  the 
lease  in  perpetuity  system  for  999  years,  which  practi- 
cally means  freehold  tenure.  The  choice  of  selection  is 
by  ballot,  and  the  quantity  of  land  which  a selector  may 
hold  is  so  fixed  as  to  encourage  the  small-farmer  class. 
The  amount  of  land  which  any  one  may  select  (subject 
to  his  chance  at  the  ballot)  is  640  acres  of  first-class 
land  or  2,000  acres  of  second-class  land,  inclusive  of  any 


MR.  BALLANCE  AS  PREMIER 


313 


land  he  may  already  hold.  There  are  three  tenures 
provided  for  by  the  Act  of  1892:  (ist)  for  cash,  in 
which  one-fourth  of  the  purchase-money  is  paid  down 
at  once,  and  the  remainder  within  thirty  days  : the  title 
does  not  issue  until  certain  improvements  have  been 
made  on  the  land;  (2nd)  lease  with  a purchasing  clause, 
at  a 5 per  cent,  rental  on  the  value  of  the  land,  the 
lease  being  for  twenty-five  years,  with  the  right  to 
purchase  at  the  original  upset  price  at  any  time  after 
the  first  ten  years  ; and  (3rd)  lease  in  perpetuity,  at  a 
rental  of  4 per  cent,  on  the  capital  value.  The  Act  and 
its  subsequent  amendments  also  provided  for  settlement 
by  small-farm  associations,  village  settlements,  im- 
proved farm  settlements,  and  for  small  grazing  runs, 
and  pastoral  runs.  Small  grazing  runs  are  divided  into 
two  classes:  first-class  not  exceeding  5,000 acres;  second- 
class  not  exceeding  20,000  acres.  The  rental  in  both 
cases  is  not  less  than  2J  per  cent,  of  the  capital  value 
per  acre,  but  such  capital  value  cannot  be  less  than  five 
shillings  per  acre.  Small  grazing  runs  are  leased  for 
terms  of  twenty-one  years,  at  a rental  of  2^  per  cent, 
with  right  of  renewal  for  other  twenty-one  years  at  a 
rent  of  2J  per  cent  on  the  then  value  of  the  land.  No 
holder  of  a pastoral  run,  and  no  holder  of  freehold  or 
leasehold  land  of  any  kind  whatever  over  1,000  acres  in 
extent,  exclusive  of  the  small  grazing  run  applied  for, 
can  be  a selector  under  this  system,  and  only  one  small 
grazing  run  can  be  held  by  any  one  person.  The  lease 
entitles  the  holder  to  the  grazing  rights  and  to  the 
cultivation  of  any  part  of  the  run,  and  to  the  reservation 
of  150  acres  round  his  homestead  through  which  no 
road  may  be  taken,  but  the  runs  are  subject  to  the 
mining  laws.  Residence  is  compulsory  under  certain 
stipulated  conditions,  and  improvements  also,  and  these 
runs  may  be  divided,  after  three  years’  compliance  with 
the  conditions,  amongst  the  members  of  the  selector’s 


314 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


family.  Pastoral  country  is  let  by  auction  for  various 
terms  not  exceeding  twenty-one  years,  and,  excepting 
in  extraordinary  circumstances,  runs  must  not  be  of  a 
greater  extent  than  will  carry  20,000  sheep  or  4,000 
head  of  cattle.  No  one  man  can  hold  more  than  one 
run,  but  in  the  case  of  any  one  holding  a run  of  a 
carrying  capacity  less  than  10,000  sheep,  he  may  take 
up  additional  country  up  to  that  limit. 

One  other  important  feature  of  Mr.  Ballance’s  policy 
of  “ land  for  the  people  was  that  of  affording  relief  to  a 
numerous  class  of  colonists  who  were  struggling  under 
the  burden  of  high  rates  of  interest  and  heavy  legal 
expenses  of  mortgages.  He  did  not  live  long  enough 
to  see  that  portion  of  his  programme  introduced,  but 
the  year  after  his  death,  namely,  in  1894,  Mr.  John 
McKenzie,  the  Minister  of  Lands,  carried  his  Advances 
to  Settlers  Act.  This  Act  authorised  the  raising  of 
three  million  pounds  sterling  for  the  purpose  of  assisting 
settlers  by  loans  from  the  Advances  to  Settlers  Board. 
The  Act  provided  for  loans  on  mortgage,  repayable  by 
73  half-yearly  instalments,  or  at  any  time,  and  the 
amending  Act  of  1896  provided  also  for  fixed  loans 
on  freehold  lands  only,  for  any  term  not  exceeding 
ten  years.  These  fixed  loans  are  repayable  at  the 
end  of  the  term  for  which  they  are  granted ; they 
must  not  exceed  in  amount  one-half  of  the  estimated 
value  of  the  security,  and  bear  interest  at  the  rate 
of  5 per  cent,  per  annum.  The  Board,  under  the 
instalment  repayable  system,  has  power  to  advance 
up  to  60  per  cent,  of  the  estimated  realisable  value  of 
freehold  securities,  and  up  to  50  per  cent,  of  the  lessee’s 
interest  in  the  case  of  leasehold  securities.  Loans  must 
not  be  for  a less  amount  than  £2^,  nor  a greater  amount 
than  £1,000.  Instalment  loans  are  repayable  (principal 
and  interest)  in  36J  years  by  half-yearly  instalments. 
These  instalments  are  calculated  at  the  rate  of  6 per 


MR.  BALLANCE  AS  PREMIER  31S 

cent.  So  much  of  each  instalment  as  is  required  to  pay 
5 per  cent,  on  the  balance  of  principal  owing  at  the 
time  of  payment  is  charged  for  interest,  and  the 
remainder  of  the  instalment  is  applied  to  the  reduc- 
tion of  the  principal.  As  every  payment  made  reduces 
the  amount  of  principal  owing,  the  charge  for  interest 
becomes  less  every  six  months,  and  an  ever-increasing 
proportion  of  the  instalment  is  available  for  paying  off 
the  debt.  Up  to  the  31st  March,  1899,  the  Advances 
to  Settlers  Board  had  authorised  7,050  advances, 
amounting  to  ;^‘2, 073,425.  The  total  amount  applied 
for  in  the  7,050  applications  granted  in  full  and  par- 
tially was  ;£’2,400,I35.  Eight  hundred  and  twenty-eight 
applicants  declined  the  partial  grants  offered  to  them, 
amounting  to  ;£'374,28o,  so  that  the  net  advances 
authorised  at  31st  March,  1899,  numbered  6,222  and 
amounted  to  1,699, 145.  The  security  for  the  net 
authorised  advances  was  valued  as  .^3,759,399-  The 
number  of  applications  received  up  to  31st  March,  1899, 
was  9,032,  for  an  aggregate  amount  of  959,5 28,  and 
63  per  cent,  of  the  total  amount  applied  for  was  wanted 
for  the  purpose  of  paying  off  existing  mortgages  at  rates 
of  interest  higher  than  5 per  cent.  (“New  Zealand 
Official  Year  Book,  1899.”) 

Whether  or  not  it  is  to  be  attributed  to  this  particular 
legislation  or  to  the  fall  of  interest  rates  in  Great  Britain 
and  elsewhere,  the  fact  remains  that  a general  decline  in 
the  rates  of  interest  in  New  Zealand  set  in  from  the 
moment  the  Advances  to  Settlers  Department  came 
into  existence,  and  it  is  also  a fact  worth  mentioning 
that  the  scheme  has  benefited  thousands  of  settlers  and 
increased  the  area  of  settlement. 

It  can  therefore  be  claimed  that  to  Mr.  Ballance's  land 
and  advances  to  settlers  policy,  and  the  conspicuously 
able  manner  in  which  that  policy  has  been  administered 
by  Mr.  John  McKenzie,  the  ex-Minister  of  Lands, 


3i6 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


a great  deal  of  the  prosperity  which  now  prevails  in 
New  Zealand  is  due. 

Mr.  McKenzie  deserves  also  to  be  congratulated  upon 
the  success  of  his  compulsory  sale  of  land  system,  which 
has  been  the  necessary  sequel  to  Mr.  Ballance's  policy 
of ‘‘the  land  for  the  people.”  Under  the  legislation 
carried  to  the  Statute-book  by  Mr.  McKenzie,  it  is  in 
the  power  of  the  Government  to  compel  the  owners  of 
big  estates  to  sell  these  estates  to  the  Government,  in 
order  that  they  may  be  subdivided  for  purposes  of 
closer  settlement.  Many  large  estates  have  been  pur- 
chased in  this  way,  and  divided  amongst  thousands  of 
settlers  under  the  various  tenures  of  the  Land  Act.  On 
large  tracts  of  country  which  were  formerly  in  the  hands 
of  one  individual,  and  which  were  devoted  to  pastoral 
purposes,  thousands  of  prosperous  farmers  are  now 
settled,  and  the  Cheviot  estate  is  a conspicuous  example 
of  the  wisdom  and  splendid  results  of  the  compulsory 
sale  of  land  system.  This  legislation,  coupled  with  the 
restrictions  as  to  the  area  of  the  various  classes  of  land 
which  any  one  individual  may  hold,  has  been  the  death- 
blow to  the  establishment  of  a landed  aristocracy  in 
New  Zealand,  and  posterity  will  revere  the  names  of 
Mr.  Ballance  and  Mr.  McKenzie  for  the  origination  and 
administration  of  reforms  which  have  secured  the  “ land 
for  the  people  ” in  the  broadest  and  most  liberal  appli- 
cation of  the  term. 


CHAPTER  XXIX 


SECULAR  EDUCATION  IN  NEW  ZEALAND 

IT  is  now  many  years  since  the  various  Colonies  of  the 
Australasian  group  adopted  free,  secular,  and  com- 
pulsory systems  of  public  education  ; and  those  systems 
having  advanced  far  beyond  their  experimental  stages, 
it  is  opportune  to  take  a retrospective  glance  at  their 
successes  and  failures — in  the  first  place  so  far  as  the 
spread  of  general  secular  knowledge  is  concerned,  and 
in  the  next  in  so  far  as  the  social  and  moral  conditions 
of  the  rising  generation  are  involved  in  the  undoubted 
effects  of  these  systems  upon  Antipodean  communities. 

But  before  entering  upon  a comparison  between  the 
results  of  the  old  system  and  the  new,  it  is  necessary  to 
give  a brief  outline  of  the  progress  of  education  in  those 
distant  lands  before  denominationalism  received  its  coup 
de  grace  by  legislative  enactments  which  transferred  the 
conduct  of  public  instruction  from  the  various  religious 
bodies  to  the  State.  In  countries  which  from  the  earliest 
periods  of  colonisation  refused  to  recognise  the  para- 
mountcy  of  any  particular  church,  a healthy  rivalry,  in 
educational  as  in  other  affairs,  was  the  natural  outcome 
of  this  freedom  of  individual  and  collective  effort.  The 
various  religious  communities  vied  with  each  other  in 
their  exertions  for  the  moral  and  intellectual  advance- 
ment of  the  children.  Schools  were  provided  not  only 

in  the  large  centres  of  population,  but  in  outlying 

317 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


3i« 

districts  within  the  limits  of  settlement ; and,  aided  by 
annual  grants  from  the  State,  these  religious  bodies  pro- 
vided a sound  course  of  instruction,  not  merely  in  the 
primary  institutions  they  established,  but  in  the  higher 
paths  of  worldly  teaching,  and  some  of  them  were 
enabled  to  found  colleges,  which  to  this  day  are  doing 
good  and  effective  work.  Religious  instruction  was,  of 
course,  a prominent  feature  of  the  daily  routine  at  these 
primary  and  secondary  establishments,  and  young  men 
and  women  emerged  from  them  not  only  well-grounded  in 
those  subjects  essential  to  their  material  fitness  in  worldly 
affairs,  but  solidly  impressed  with  moral  precepts  without 
whose  possession  really  good  citizenship  is  impossible. 
The  measure  of  State  assistance,  however,  was  not  large 
enough  to  permit  of  these  religious  bodies  throwing  open 
their  schools  free  of  charge.  They  were  compelled  to 
levy  school  fees,  and  it  is  just  possible  that  they  were  a 
little  too  exacting  in  the  enforcement  of  these  weekly 
charges.  It  is  undeniable  that,  either  through  the  care- 
lessness of  some  parents  or  inability  to  send  their 
children  regularly  to  school,  many  children  were  grow- 
ing up  in  absolute  ignorance,  although  not  in  such 
numbers  as  to  justify  the  howl  that  was  raised  against  the 
inefficiency  of  the  denominational  system.  Any  of  its 
apparent  defects  could  have  been  easily  remedied  by  a 
more  liberal  display  of  State  aid;  but  Governments 
showed  no  desire  to  increase  their  grants,  and  denomina- 
tionalism  was  doomed.  It  suited  the  politicians  of  the 
time  to  proclaim  loudly  against  it,  and  the  offer  of  free 
education  was  the  bait  devised  for  its  destruction.  The 
masses  swallowed  it  readily,  and  as  a consequence  the 
denominational  system  was  ruthlessly  destroyed,  without 
even  as  much  as  a grateful  acknowledgment  of  the  good 
work  it  had  done,  and  was  capable  of  doing  if  it  had 
been  assisted  to  the  extent  it  ought  to  have  been  by 
those  who  controlled  the  public  funds. 


SECULAR  EDUCATION  IN  NEW  ZEALAND  319 


The  interpretation  of  the  ‘‘secular'^  system  varies  some- 
what in  the  different  Colonies.  In  New  South  Wales, 
Scripture  lessons  are  given  as  part  of  the  regular  school 
curriculum ; and  facilities  are  also  afforded  to  clergymen 
to  impart  religious  instruction  within  specified  school 
hours  to  children  whose  parents  belong  to  their  denomina- 
tion and  desire  that  such  instruction  should  be  given. 
In  Victoria,  religion  has  been  strictly  forbidden  to  be 
taught  during  school  hours,  and  at  no  time  has  a State 
school  teacher  been  permitted  to  give  instruction 
therein.  Experience  has  shown,  however,  that  State 
schools  conducted  upon  principles  so  exclusively  non- 
religious have  retrograded  in  popularity,  and  that  a 
serious  falling-off  in  the  attendance  has  occurred.  Secu- 
larists attribute  this  appreciable  diminution  to  the  general 
scheme  of  retrenchment  given  effect  to  in  recent  years 
to  restore  the  financial  equilibrium  in  that  colony ; but 
much  of  it  is  due  to  the  exclusion  of  religious  teaching, 
with  its  consequential  effects  upon  the  rising  generation, 
so  noticeable  also  in  New  Zealand.  It  was  mainly  for  this 
reason,  and  because  of  the  efforts  of  the  Scripture  Edu- 
cation League,  that  a Royal  Commission  was  recently 
appointed  in  Victoria  for  the  purpose  of  preparing  such 
Scripture  lessons  as  might  be  acceptable  to  all  denomina- 
tions. In  Tasmania  opportunities  are  offered  for  giving 
religious  instruction  out  of  school  hours  ; and  in  South 
Australia  religious  instruction  is  not  allowed  to  be  given 
except  out  of  ordinary  school  hours.  Practically  speak- 
ing, these  “ after  school  hours  stipulations  are  no 
concessions  at  all,  because  it  is  most  distasteful  to 
children  to  attend  religious  instruction  either  after  the 
schools  have  closed  for  the  day,  or  during  any  other 
time  when  their  schoolmates  may  be  enjoying  their 
games  in  the  playgrounds  or  elsewhere. 

One  need  not  go  outside  New  Zealand  to  adduce 
facts  and  draw  comparisons  and  conclusions  from  the 


320 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


adoption  of  the  new  system  for  the  old.  It  was  In  1877 
that  the  Minister  for  Education  (the  Hon.  C.  C.  Bowen) 
propounded  his  scheme  for  the  complete  secularisation 
of  all  the  public  schools  in  that  Colony.  Briefly  stated, 
it  meant  the  establishment  of  primary  and  secondary 
schools  under  the  control  and  management  of  the  State, 
the  absolute  withdrawal  of  all  assistance  from  the 
denominational  schools  already  in  existence,  the  exclu- 
sion of  religious  teaching,  the  support  of  the  newly- 
created  establishments  from  the  revenues  of  the  country, 
and  the  opening  of  their  doors  to  all  children  free  of 
charge.  The  acceptance  of  these  proposals  was  the 
death-blow  of  denominationalism.  The  religious  com- 
munities were  to  be  starved  out  by  the  process  of 
throwing  them  entirely  upon  their  own  resources,  and 
private  schools  were  also  to  suffer  by  these  measures  of 
extinction.  It  was,  naturally  enough,  concluded  by  the 
enemies  of  denominationalism  that  the  religious  bodies 
could  never  keep  their  schools  open  and  make  a charge 
whilst  the  State  schools  were  free  to  all,  and  the  result 
was  only  what  might  have  been  expected.  In  most 
instances,  the  attendance  at  the  denominational  schools 
almost  immediately  dwindled  down  to  vanishing  point ; 
they  were  without  funds  for  the  payment  of  their 
teachers  ; in  vain  they  protested  against  the  unfairness 
of  having  themselves  to  contribute  to  the  support  of 
schools  they  did  not  conscientiously  believe  in,  whilst 
they  were  denied  any  participation  in  the  State  funds. 
All  protests  were  futile,  and  they  were  reluctantly  com- 
pelled to  bow  to  the  inevitable  and  retire  from  educa- 
tional work  as  a general  rule.  The  Roman  Catholics, 
however,  have  absolutely  refused  to  come  under  the 
State  system,  and  some  Anglican,  Presbyterian,  and 
other  congregations  have  succeeded  till  this  day  in 
supporting  good  schools  of  their  own.  But,  however 
efficient  these  Roman  Catholic,  Anglican,  Presbyterian, 


SECULAR  EDUCATION  IN  NEW  ZEALAND  321 

and  other  schools  may  be,  they  suffer  the  disability  of 
being  denied  the  privilege  of  State  inspectorship,  and 
as  certificates  are  necessary  before  any  scholars  can  put 
themselves  forward  for  examination  as  candidates  for 
the  Civil  Service,  they  have  either  eventually  to  go  to 
these  schools  against  their  will  or  surrender  their  chance 
of  employment  in  the  public  service  of  the  Colony. 
They  are  quite  willing,  in  fact  have  time  and  again 
requested,  that  their  schools  should  be  inspected 
regularly  by  the  Inspectors  employed  by  Education 
Boards,  fully  convinced  that  they  will  be  found  to 
comply  with  all  the  requirements  of  the  State  so  far  as 
the  standards  of  secular  instruction  and  general  efficiency 
are  concerned,  but  these  requests  have  been  systema- 
tically refused.  Thus  it  happens  that  the  Roman 
Catholics,  some  congregations  of  Anglicans,  Presby- 
terians, and  other  religious  bodies  have  schools  equal 
in  all  secular  respects  to  those  entirely  supported  by 
the  State — schools  which  they  cannot  conscientiously 
avail  themselves  of — and  yet  they  contribute  in  equal 
proportion  per  head  to  the  general  taxation  of  the 
Colony,  without  having  a single  penny  returned  to  them 
to  assist  in  the  maintenance  of  their  own  establishments. 
Such  self-denial  and  continuous  endeavour,  because  of 
their  scruples  of  conscience,  are  worthy  of  recognition 
and  better  treatment. 

When  it  is  considered  that  the  State  expends  some- 
thing like  half  a million  annually — for  the  current 
year  the  amount  for  general  and  technical  education 
is  £462^64^ — out  of  its  consolidated  revenue  upon 
education,  some  idea  may  be  formed  of  the  amount 
of  that  large  sum  which  comes  out  of  the  pockets 
of  those  who,  for  conscience^  sake,  are  opposed  to  the 
secular  system ; and  surely,  in  the  name  of  equity  and 
justice,  they  have  a right  to  demand  that  the  schools 
they  are  so  voluntarily  and  cheerfully  supporting  should 

22 


322 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


be  included  in  this  distribution  of  the  yearly  grant  for 
education  purposes.  If  their  schools  were  not  main- 
tained upon  the  same  level  of  efficiency  as  the  State 
schools,  there  would  be  some  excuse  for  the  exception- 
ally bad  treatment  they  are  subjected  to ; but  they 
challenge  comparison,  and  are  powerless  to  demonstrate 
publicly  what  is  privately  known  to  be  the  case  when 
the  State  Inspectors  are  told  by  Education  Boards  that 
the  inspection  of  denominational  schools  does  not  come 
within  the  scope  of  their  duties.  At  the  very  least,  the 
right  of  public  inspection  should  not  be  so  steadfastly 
denied  them  when  they  clamour  for  it  and  feel  perfectly 
confident  of  the  result. 

But  this  denial  of  public  inspection  is  part  and  parcel 
of  the  plan  to  secularise  the  whole  growing  generation. 
The  education  question  in  New  Zealand,  as  in  other 
Colonies,  has  degenerated  into  a great  political  factor, 
which  obtrudes  itself  upon  all  occasions  of  electioneering 
warfare  in  that  Colony.  When  parliamentary  candidates 
present  themselves  to  the  electors,  the  first  desideratum 
is  that  they  are  sound  upon,  the  education  question,  their 
soundness  consisting  in  the  pledge  demanded  of  them 
that  they  will  oppose  any  disturbance  of  the  secular 
system.  No  evasive  answer  will  do  if  a candidate  hopes 
to  be  successful  at  the  poll.  Whether  he  conscientiously 
believes  so  or  not,  the  average  parliamentary  candidate 
will  not  sacrifice  his  chances  of  £240  a year,  with  other 
pickings,  by  declaring  that  the  case  of  the  denomina- 
tionalists  deserves  to  be  considered  in  the  way  of  State 
aid  to  their  schools.  He  must  be  an  out-and-out 
secularist,  in  most  of  the  electorates  at  all  events,  if  he 
hopes  to  be  returned,  even  at  the  cost  of  sacrificing  his 
own  honest  convictions.  Time  and  again  the  question 
of  State  aid  crops  up ; but,  despite  the  persistency  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church  and  other  religious  bodies  in 
that  direction,  tliere  is  no  immediate  hope  of  the  system 


SECULAR  EDUCATION  IN  NEW  ZEALAND  323 


being  interfered  with  to  that  extent.  State  aid,  depen- 
dent upon  the  result  of  public  inspection,  is  what  the 
Roman  Catholics  limit  their  claims  to  ; but,  failing  to 
obtain  both  these  concessions,  the  opponents  of  the  system 
who  belong  to  other  denominations  desire  at  the  very 
least  to  have  Bible-reading  permitted  in  the  public 
schools.  But  they  are  at  once  confronted  with  the  cry 
that  Bible-reading  in  schools  means  the  insertion  of  the 
thin  end  of  the  wedge  of  denominationalism,  and  this  is 
the  bogey  which  is  always  advanced  to  suit  political 
ends.  The  masses  are  assured  that  a return  to  denomi- 
nationalism means  the  destruction  of  the  free  system, 
and  the  poorer  classes  do  not  see — they  are  generally 
blind  in  these  matters — that  under  a reformed  system 
religious  teaching  does  not  necessarily  imply  that  they 
will  have  to  pay  for  the  secular  instruction  their 
children  receive  at  schools  which  may  be  either  public 
or  denominational  upon  a fair  basis  of  financial  assis- 
tance from  the  State.  In  that  case  the  selection  of 
particular  schools  to  send  their  children  to  would  be  in 
their  own  hands. 

It  cannot  be  denied  that,  under  the  State  school 
system,  the  spread  of  education  has  been  very  great,  and 
that  the  returns  of  children  upon  the  rolls  show  an 
astounding  increase  when  compared  with  the  number 
receiving  education  at  the  period  when  denominational 
schools  were  wiped  out  of  existence.  But  it  must  be 
borne  in  mind  that  the  population  of  New  Zealand  has 
increased  enormously  since  that  time,  and  therefore  a 
comparison  of  the  returns  then  and  now  cannot  be 
advanced  as  a conclusive  argument  in  favour  of  the 
secular  system.  It  must  also  be  remembered  that  the 
denominational  schools  received  very  niggardly  assis- 
tance from  State  funds,  and  there  is  no  real  ground  for 
supposing  that  they  would  not  have  made  equal  head- 
way if  they  had  been  endowed  as  liberally  as  the  State 


324 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


schools  have  been  ever  since  they  came  into  existence. 
Therefore,  it  is  unfair  to  suppose  that  with  adequate 
endowments  the  denominational  system  would  not  have 
accomplished  quite  as  much  as  the  secular  system  has 
done  during  the  two  last  decades.  The  difference 
between  them  is,  that  the  one  was  practically  starved 
out,  while  the  other  has  been  fattened  with  a liberality 
which  has  known  no  stint,  as  a reference  to  the  annual 
appropriations  by  Parliament  will  testify. 

New  South  Wales  affords  a striking  illustration  of 
the  healthy  rivalry  which  was  created  in  that  Colony 
under  the  mixed  system  of  national  and  denominational 
schools  which  prevailed  there  until  1866,  when  the 
National  and  Denominational  Boards  were  swept  away. 
At  that  date  there  were  259  National  schools  in  New 
South  Wales,  with  an  attendance  of  19,641  pupils. 
The  Denominational  schools  numbered  no  less  than 
317,  with  an  attendance  of  27,986  pupils;  and  there 
were  also  604  private  schools  giving  instruction  to 
15,556  children,  boys  and  girls.  In  December  of  that 
year  the  National  and  Denominational  Boards  were 
abolished,  as  the  forerunner  of  what  happened  in  1882, 
when  aid  to  denominational  schools  was  withdrawn. 
But  a consideration  of  the  foregoing  statistics  establishes 
the  fact  that  a preference  existed  for  denominational 
and  private  schools  as  against  those  of  a purely  national 
character  ; and  the  same  preference  would  again  assert 
itself  if  denominational  and  private  schools  had  the 
opportunity  of  establishing  their  claims  to  State 
assistance  upon  the  basis  of  periodical  inspection  which 
is  now  denied  them. 

One  must,  of  course,  recognise  that  it  is  the  duty  of 
the  State  to  see  that  all  its  children  are  educated  up  to 
a certain  standard  ; but  there  the  State’s  obligation 
ceases,  after  making  adequate  provision  for  the  highest 
possible  educational  achievements  by  all  poorer  children 


SECULAR  EDUCATION  IN  NEW  ZEALAND  325 


of  conspicuous  ability.  New  Zealand  goes  several 
steps  in  this  direction,  but  as  a rule  its  scholarships  are 
not  of  sufficient  value  to  enable  the  children  of  poorer 
parents  to  take  advantage  of  them.  Besides,  it  generally 
happens  that  these  children  have  to  be  withdrawn  from 
school  in  order  to  assist  in  the  maintenance  of  the 
family;  whereas  the  children  of  people  in  good  positions 
are  enabled  to  advance  from  the  primary  to  the  secon- 
dary schools  and  onward  to  their  University  course. 
Despite  these  obvious  inequalities,  the  masses  have  it 
constantly  dinned  into  their  ears  that  the  free  and 
secular  system  of  education  in  New  Zealand  is  entirely 
for  their  own  benefit,  and  that  a return  to  denomi- 
nationalism  would  deprive  them  of  advantages  specially 
conferred  upon  themselves.  It  is  by  this  method  of 
political  trickery  that  the  votes  of  the  masses  are 
recorded  for  the  maintenance  of  a system  which  only 
requires  a little  reflection  to  show  that  the  lion's  share 
of  advantages  are  reaped  by  people  in  the  higher 
positions  of  life.  And,  apart  altogether  from  secular 
teaching,  it  must  be  admitted  that  the  necessity  for 
religious  instruction  is  more  apparent  in  the  case  of  the 
children  of  the  poor  than  of  the  rich.  Obviously,  from 
their  very  surroundings,  the  former  incur  greater  risks 
from  its  exclusion,  and  hence  it  is  that  in  all  schools  it 
should  at  least  be  optional  with  those  attending  them. 

Although  the  efforts  of  New  Zealand  denominational- 
ists  have  hitherto  been  unavailing,  they  have  no  reason 
to  be  discouraged  in  their  agitation  against  the  godless 
system  which  has  prevailed  there  for  more  than  twenty 
years.  It  is  satisfactory  to  think  that  their  ranks  are 
gradually  swelling,  and  that  a greater  number  of 
children  than  formerly  are  being  attracted  to  their 
schools  and  private  institutions  because  of  the  growing 
objections  to  a purely  secular  system.  Without  for  one 
moment  desiring  to  pose  as  a purist  or  moralist,  my 


326  AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 

observation  of  the  working  of  that  system  convinces 
me  that  the  future  well-being  of  the  Colony  demands  a 
change,  and  that  the  exclusion  of  religious  teaching  has 
been  a mistake  in  the  past.  No  observant  person  can 
fail  to  be  struck  with  the  utter  want  of  reverence  on  the 
part  of  very  many  of  the  children  attending  these  State 
schools,  their  general  lack  of  good  manners  and  of 
respect  for  their  seniors  and  superiors.  Let  any  one  go 
in  the  vicinity  of  a State  School  at  times  when  the 
children  are  dismissed,  especially  in  the  larger  cities  and 
towns,  and  his  ears  will  be  assailed  by  the  coarsest 
language  and  profanity  from  the  lips  of  children  of  the 
earliest  school  age  upwards.  What  a difference  he  will 
observe  in  the  demeanour  and  language  of  those 
children  who,  fortunately  for  themselves,  are  the  regular 
attendants  of  denominational  establishments ! The 
contrast  is  greater  than  can  be  conceived  by  those  who 
have  not  had  the  opportunity  of  witnessing  for  them- 
selves this  deplorable  outcome  of  the  purely  secular 
system  in  State  schools.  Under  these  circumstances, 
how  is  it  possible  for  a generation  to  grow  up  with 
those  loftier  ideals  which  will  enable  them  to  lead  good 
and  honourable  lives,  and  to  be  exemplary  in  all  their 
dealings  and  intercourse  with  their  fellow-men?  No 
purely  secular  system  of  State  education  will  conduce 
to  this,  and  it  is  gratifying  to  think  that  so  many  people 
in  New  Zealand  are  beginning  to  find  that  out. 

My  contention  is  that  any  system  is  imperfect  which 
does  not  provide  for  the  moral  as  well  as  the  material 
instruction  of  the  young.  For  all  the  3^ears  it  has  been 
in  existence  the  State  school  system  of  New  Zealand 
has  ignored  this  obligation,  and  the  recommendations  of 
Anglican  Synods  and  Presbyterian  Assemblies  have 
been  systematically  unheeded.  The  ministers  of  these 
two  great  branches  of  the  Christian  Church  are  only  too 
willing  to  visit  the  public  schools,  at  any  times  that  may 


SECULAR  EDUCATION  IN  NEW  ZEALAND  327 

be  considered  most  convenient,  to  impart  religious  instruc- 
tion to  their  own  children,  but  their  offers  have  been  re- 
fused. Bible-reading  even,  without  the  least  approach  to 
dogmatic  teaching,  has  been  resisted  under  the  flimsy 
pretext  that  the  tendency  of  this  innovation  would  be 
to  place  free  education  in  jeopardy.  In  this  manner  the 
religious  bodies  are  kept  outside  the  threshold  of  all 
public  schools,  and  at  the  same  time  are  denied  any 
participation  in  the  enormous  amount  which  is  annually 
applied  to  educational  purposes,  and  to  which  they 
contribute  under  the  taxation  which  is  imposed  upon 
all  alike.  If  the  majority  insists  upon  the  maintenance 
of  State  schools,  surely  the  reading  of  portions  of  the 
Holy  Scriptures  from  day  to  day  will  not  make  them 
less  free  than  they  now  are ; and,  in  the  absence  of  that 
concession,  surely  some  respect  should  be  shown  for  the 
conscientious  scruples  of  the  minority.  They  should 
receive  their  fair  proportion  of  the  public  funds,  that 
they  may  be  enabled  to  establish  and  maintain  schools 
in  accordance  with  their  own  conceptions  of  what 
is  right  and  proper  for  the  spiritual  and  material  wel- 
fare of  the  children  who  attend  them.  These  denomi- 
national schools,  sufficiently  subsidised,  may  be  as 
free  as  any  others  in  the  land,  and  regular  inspection 
will  ensure  the  required  standard  of  efficiency  which 
entitles  them  to  financial  assistance  from  the  State. 

It  may  be  argued  that  this  recognition  of  the  claims 
advanced  by  the  denominationalists  might  have  the 
effect  of  encouraging  the  growth  of  religious  animosities 
amongst  the  people  of  the  Colony.  The  best  and  com- 
pletest  answer  to  that  bogey  is  that  no  such  animosity 
existed  during  all  those  years  when  denominationalism 
with  regard  to  education  was  in  full  swing  in  New 
Zealand,  and  none  need  therefore  be  apprehended  from 
a return  to  that  system.  The  truth  is  that  in  the 
Colonies  religious  toleration  prevails  to  an  extent  that 


328 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


is  not  to  be  observed  in  some  older  countries  ; each 
Church  stands  upon  its  own  merits,  all  of  them  working 
without  friction  towards  the  same  end,  and  people  are 
none  the  less  neighbourly,  helpful,  or  charitable  in 
disposition  because  they  do  not  worship  in  the  same 
edifice. 


CHAPTER  XXX 


NEW  ZEALAND  PARLIAMENTS  PAST  AND  PRESENT — 
‘‘SPOILS  TO  THE  VICTORS” — A REIGN  OF  TERROR 

HE  first  Ministry  under  a system  of  responsible 


X Government  was  appointed  on  the  i8th  of  April, 
1856,  and  it  was  then  that  the  Parliamentary  system 
was  really  introduced  into  New  Zealand.  The  great 
mistake  which  was  made  in  the  Constitution  was  that 
it  did  not  provide  for  an  elective  Upper  House.  The 
Legislative  Council  was  created  as  a nominated  body, 
whose  members  were  summoned  to  it  from  time  to  time 
by  the  Governor,  or  practically  by  the  Government  of 
the  day.  Its  establishment  upon  this  basis  of  life 
membership  necessarily  imparted  to  it  a conservative 
composition,  and  when  the  other  branch  of  the  Legisla- 
ture was  conservative  also  there  was  little  fear  of  a 
serious  conflict  between  them — none  absolutely  where 
the  legislation  was  acceptable  to  both,  as  it  generally 


was. 


But  occasions  happened,  nevertheless,  when  differences 
did  arise  between  the  two  Houses  upon  other  measures, 
and  if  they  experienced  any  difficulty  in  getting  their 
bills  through  the  Legislative  Council,  either  because 
they  were  thought  to  be  hasty  and  ill-considered 
legislation  or  for  any  other  reason,  then  all  the 
Government  had  to  do  was  to  summon  a fresh  batch 


329 


330 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


of  their  particular  friends  and  supporters  to  the  Upper 
House,  and  by  this  means  convert  a minority  into  a 
majority.  And  so  the  end  was  achieved  without  the 
electors  having  a say  in  the  matter  one  way  or  another. 

This  is  why  a nominated  Upper  House  is  objection- 
able. It  places  far  too  much  power  in  the  hands  of  a 
Government,  and  the  whole  Parliament  may  become 
a mere  machine  to  give  legislative  sanction  to  the 
measures  that  are  submitted  to  it. 

It  is  true  that,  when  a popular  and  liberal  Lower 
House  has  obstacles  thrown  in  its  way  by  a Council 
which  contains  a Conservative  majority,  the  Government 
which  is  its  mouthpiece  can,  by  the  same  process  of 
fresh  nominations,  carry  its  measures  through  ; but  at  the 
same  time  it  confers  an  amount  of  power  upon  the 
Government  which  it  is  very  undesirable  it  should 
possess. 

After  the  Conservatives  were  turned  out  of  office  as 
the  result  of  the  elections  of  1890,  the  Liberal  Party  in 
New  Zealand  had  a splendid  opportunity  of  placing  the 
Legislative  Council  upon  an  elective  basis.  Not  only 
did  they  neglect  to  do  this,  but  a far  more  objectionable 
system  was  introduced.  The  Constitution  was  amended 
in  a way  which  has  since  brought  the  Legislative  Council 
into  great  and  well-deserved  discredit. 

Under  the  amending  Act,  existing  members  of  that 
body  were  allowed  to  retain  their  membership  for  life, 
but  all  fresh  appointments  were  to  be  only  for  seven 
years,  members  upon  the  expiration  of  this  term  being 
eligible  for  re-appointment.  This  latter  provision  was 
a great  mistake.  It  not  only  preserved  to  the  Govern- 
ment their  control  over  the  Upper  House  by  the  process 
of  “ swamping,”  but  threw  the  door  wide  open  to  the 
political  corruption  which  has  ensued  with  regard  to  the 
composition  of  the  Legislative  Council.  For  years  past, 
ever  since  1893,  it  has  become  nothing  more  nor  less  than 


NEW  ZEALAND  PARLIAMENTS 


331 


the  dumping  ground  of  political  touts  of  the  right  colour, 
and  people  have  been  summoned  to  it  in  the  most  bare- 
faced manner  who  have  stood  as  Government  candidates 
for  the  House  of  Representatives  and  been  defeated  by 
candidates  standing  in  Opposition  interests.  One  after 
another  these  people,  rejected  at  the  polls,  have  been 
called  by  the  Government  to  the  Upper  House,  and  thus 
the  will  of  the  electors  has  been  disregarded.  When  the 
Government  appoints  its  particular  friends  to  seats  in 
this  Council  for  a term  of  seven  years,  of  course  they 
must  be  obedient  to  the  Government,  or  they  will  have  no 
chance  of  re-appointment  at  the  expiration  of  the  term. 
The  will  and  behests  of  the  Government  must  be  obeyed, 
or  out  they  go,  and  that  is  the  degrading  position  to 
which  the  Legislative  Council  of  New  Zealand  has  been 
reduced.  Under  a system  such  as  this,  where  dis- 
obedience can  be  punished  by  a refusal  to  renew 
Councillors’  appointments,  it  can  easily  be  seen  the 
corruption  that  is  possible,  and  no  stretch  of  imagination 
is  required  to  realise  the  shocking  abuses  which  the 
system  has  been  productive  of  during  the  past  seven  or 
eight  years.  They  have  been  too  glaring  to  escape  the 
observation  of  visitors  to  the  Colony,  not  to  speak  of 
those  who  have  been  so  utterly  disgusted  as  to  proclaim 
loudly  for  the  abolition  of  the  Upper  House.  Under 
existing  conditions  it  is  absolutely  under  the  dictation 
of  the  Government,  and  is  no  check  whatever  upon  any 
legislation  which  may  be  passed  by  the  other  branch  of 
the  Legislature.  The  Government,  by  the  process 
already  pointed  out,  has  a majority  there,  and  woe  to 
any  of  those  holding  seven-year  appointments  who  dare 
to  vote  against  the  Ministry.  Out  they  go  as  soon  as 
their  term  expires.  Occasionally,  a member  of  the 
Council,  who  owes  his  seat  to  the  Government,  will  have 
spunk  and  manliness  enough  to  assert  his  freedom  of 
action  and  vote  against  them  ; in  that  event  the  Council 


332 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


Chamber  sees  the  last  of  him  when  his  seven  years’  term 
is  up.  But  in  ninety-nine  cases  out  of  a hundred,  these 
seven-year-term  gentry  have  a keen  eye  to  re-appoint- 
ment, a salary  of  ;^'i50  a year,  a free  railway  pass  over 
the  railways  and  other  privileges,  and  last  but  not  least 
the  prefix  of  the  word  Honourable  ” to  their  names  so 
long  as  they  are  members  of  the  Council.  These  con- 
siderations ensure  obedience  to  Governmental  dictation, 
and  their  ‘‘  loyalty,”  as  it  is  misnamed,  is  duly  rewarded 
when  the  question  of  their  reappointment  crops  up. 
There  are  still  several  of  the  old  life-members  left,  but 
their  number  is  diminishing  year  by  year ; and  unless  the 
system  is  changed,  as  it  ought  to  be,  and  the  Council 
made  elective,  the  time  will  soon  come  when  the 
Government  will  be  able  to  control  every  vote  in  the 
Legislative  Council.  They  will  be  all  seven-year-term 
men,  ready  to  do  what  they  are  told  by  a Government 
which  abuses  its  powers  so  shamelessly  and  holds  a rod 
continually  over  their  heads  to  remind  them  of  the 
penalty  of  disobedience  to  its  commands.  And  yet 
they  have  the  impudence  to  proclaim  themselves 
democrats,  when  in  truth  they  are  greater  autocrats 
than  Kaiser  William  or  the  Czar  of  Russia,  in  that  little 
Colony  which  they  have  managed  to  get  so  completely 
under  the  lash  of  personal  domination  and  control. 

What,  then,  is  to  be  said  of  the  Lower  House  under 
this  autocratic  regime?  No  possible  command  of 
invective  could  sufficiently  describe  the  state  of  degra- 
dation to  which  it  has  fallen.  For  a long  series  of  years 
it  was  New  Zealand’s  proud  boast  that  it  possessed  the 
finest  Legislature  in  the  South  Seas.  It  had  able  men 
within  its  walls  in  those  days — men  whose  eloquence 
would  have  shone  lustre  on  any  representative  assembly 
in  the  world  ; men  who  were  statesmen  in  every  sense 
of  the  word,  big-brained,  educated  men  whose  utterances 
it  was  always  a pleasure  to  listen  to.  They  are  all  out  of 


NEW  ZEALAND  PARLIAMENTS 


333 


it  now.  You  search  vainly  for  men  like  Weld,  Stafford, 
Domett,  Crosbie  Ward,  Fitzgerald,  Fox,  Featherston, 
Fitzherbert,  Richmond,  Gisborne,  Sewell,  Vogel,  Atkin- 
son, Grey,  Macandrew,  Ballance,  Stout,  Bell,  Sheehan, 
Carleton,  Reacher  Wood  and  many  others  whose  recorded 
speeches  show  the  stamp  of  men  they  were.  And  what 
an  array  of  Speakers  presided  over  both  Houses  ! — Sir 
Charles  Clifford,  Sir  David  Munro,  Major  Richardson, 
Sir  Francis  Dillon  Bell,  Sir  Harry  Atkinson,  and  Sir 
William  Fitzherbert.  With  what  dignity  they  filled  the 
high  office  to  which  they  were  all  called  in  turn ! One 
can  imagine  what  any  one  of  these  men  would  have 
done  if  any  Government  had  dared,  as  it  never  did,  to 
ride  roughshod  through  standing  orders  or  to  encroach 
upon  the  privileges  and  prerogatives  of  Parliament.  A 
Government  which  attempted  to  do  anything  of  this 
kind  would  have  been  brought  to  book  pretty  sharply 
and  reminded  that  Parliament  was  supreme,  and  that 
the  Government,  as  its  servants  and  the  servants  of  the 
people,  must  not  dare  to  constitute  themselves  the 
dictators  of  Parliament  and  the  custodians  of  its 
privileges  and  rights.  To  pursue  this  branch  of  the 
subject  further  would  be  absolutely  painful  to  the  author, 
and  therefore  he  leaves  it  at  this  point. 

But  as  to  the  House  itself,  what  has  it  come  to? 
With  comparatively  few  exceptions,  it  is  a collection  of 
time-serving,  self-seeking,  uneducated,  and  thick-skinned 
mediocrities.  Its  decadence  began  in  1890;  but  ever 
since  the  lamented  death  of  the  late  Mr.  Ballance,  who 
was  a real  statesman  and  a true,  upright,  and  honest 
democrat,  its  rush  downwards  has  been  torrential.  The 
plain  truth  of  the  matter  is  that  public  and  political  life 
has  become  so  degraded  in  New  Zealand  that  few  men 
of  respectability  and  good  social  position  can  now  be 
induced  to  present  themselves  as  candidates.  To  be  a 
member  of  the  New  Zealand  Parliament  is  no  longer 


334 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


accounted  an  honour,  and  men  of  integrity  and  principle, 
as  a rule,  decline  to  wade  through  the  sea  of  slush  that 
lies  between  them  and  the  portals  of  Parliament  House. 
The  unclean  thing  has  no  attraction  for  them,  and  the 
associations  of  membership  are  far  from  inviting  to  men 
of  self-respect  and  honesty  and  independence  of  pur- 
pose. That  is  why  the  Opposition  and  Left  Wing 
ranks  are  so  thin  to-day ; that  is  why  the  great  Liberal 
Party,”  as  it  is  nicknamed  in  derision  with  particularly 
strong  emphasis  on  the  ‘‘  great,”  finds  itself  so  much  in 
the  ascendency  ; that,  too,  is  why  the  late  Mr.  Ballance’s 
death  was  what  it  was  so  truly  described  at  the  time  to 
be — a national  calamity.  New  Zealand  has  felt  his  loss 
ever  since.  Had  he  lived,  this  deplorable  decadence  of 
its  Parliament  could  never  have  ensued  with  such  a man 
as  he  was  at  the  head  of  affairs.  As  things  have  un- 
fortunately happened,  lower  it  cannot  get.  It  has 
reached  that  stage  of  degradation  when  a reaction,  sure 
and  swift,  must  soon  set  in  ; and,  for  the  sake  of  New 
Zealand's  credit,  let  us  hope  that  its  Parliament  will 
shortly  be  restored  to  something  like  the  position  it 
enjoyed  before  the  reign  of  personal  government  was 
allowed  to  crush  the  spirit  of  manly  independence  out 
of  it,  and  to  impose  upon  the  people  themselves  with  a 
degree  of  autocratic  overbearance  and  assurance  that 
has  made  abject  cravens  and  political  cowards  of  the 
great  bulk  of  them.  Just  imagine  how  anything  of 
the  kind  can  be  possible  in  any  young  country  where 
free  institutions  are  supposed  to  exist!  But  the  case  of 
New  Zealand  demonstrates  that  it  is  possible,  because 
there  it  is.  It  is  no  fiincy  of  the  author's  ; he  knows  it 
is  there.  He  has  seen  it  in  full  swing  since  1893,  and 
he  knows  the  reign  of  terror  that  exists  throughout  the 
length  and  breadth  of  the  land  at  this  moment. 

How  has  it  been  brought  about  ? is  the  question  that 
will  naturally  be  asked.  In  the  first  place,  it  has  resulted 


NEW  ZEALAND  PARLIAMENTS 


335 


from  the  adoption  of  President  Jackson’s  policy  of 
“ spoils  to  the  victors,”  of  punishments  and  rewards,  of 
espionage  which  permeates  through  every  branch  of 
the  public  service,  and  has  demoralised  and  disorganised 
the  Civil  Service  to  an  extent  which  has  interfered 
seriously  with  its  efficiency.  There  are,  in  the  Civil 
Service  of  New  Zealand,  numbers  of  civil  servants 
as  high-minded,  honourable,  conscientious  in  the  per- 
formance of  their  duties,  and  as  capable  and  efficient 
as  are  to  be  found  in  any  Civil  Service  in  any  part 
of  the  world  ; but  there  are  in  it  also  some  crawling 
and  cringing  creatures  who  are  not  over-scrupulous 
in  their  methods  to  secure  promotion,  and,  as  a matter 
of  fact,  promotions  have  been  made  over  the  heads 
of  older  and  more  efficient  officers,  who  bask  not 
in  the  sunshine  of  political  favour  and  preference. 
Another  way  in  which  the  Civil  Service  has  been  de- 
moralised has  been  the  introduction  of  a system  by 
which  outsiders,  through  political  influence,  are  intro- 
duced into  the  service  by  methods  which  remove  all 
obstacles  interposed  by  the  Civil  Service  regulations. 
These  are  avoided  by  what  are  called  “ expert  ” 
appointments ; and  it  often  happens  that  a youth, 
who  says  he  can  write  shorthand  or  mechanically 
manipulate  a typewriter,  is  provided  with  an  appoint- 
ment as  an  “expert,”  no  less.  One  can  safely  wager 
that  he  is  the  son  or,  if  it  be  a female,  the  daughter 
or  some  relative  or  friend  of  a member  of  Parlia- 
ment ; or  the  son,  daughter,  niece,  nephew,  relative, 
or  friend  of  some  political  tout  of  the  “ great  ” 
Liberal  party,  who  makes  himself  busy  at  election 
times.  Spies  abound  everywhere,  inside  the  Civil 
Service  and  out  of  it,  and  no  man  is  safe  who  talks 
politics  in  a way  which  shows  that  he  is  not  of  the  right 
colour.  If  he  does,  he  places  his  bread  and  butter  in 
jeopardy,  and  never  knows  the  moment  that  punish- 


33^ 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


ment  may  come  upon  him.  At  afternoon  teas  it  is 
positively  dangerous  for  any  woman,  whose  husband  is 
in  the  New  Zealand  Civil  Service,  to  let  fall  an  expres- 
sion that  can  be  construed  into  a declaration  of  hostility 
to  the  powers  that  be.  Mrs.  Somebody-else  is  certain 
to  be  there,  who  will  carry  the  tittle-tattle  somewhere 
else,  and  the  husband  wonders  why  he  has  not  obtained 
his  well-earned  promotion,  if  indeed  some  excuse  is  not 
found  for  dispensing  with  his  services  altogether.  He 
may  count  himself  lucky  if  he  escapes  with  merely 
being  kept  where  he  is  without  advancing  another  step 
up  the  ladder.  The  whole  system  is  such  that  the  Civil 
servant  has  not  a soul  to  call  his  own,  no  security  of 
position,  is  afraid  to  open  his  mouth  upon  subjects  out- 
side his  daily  official  routine,  and  the  consequence  is 
that  the  Civil  servant  is  robbed  of  his  manhood  and 
exists  under  a reign  of  terror  that  is  truly  appalling  to 
contemplate.  In  fact,  the  Civil  Service  of  New  Zealand 
has  become  so  demoralised  and  disorganised  that  the 
opportunity  is  anxiously  watched  for  to  get  out  of  it. 
This  accounts  for  so  many  of  its  best  men  leaving  it  and 
transferring  their  services  to  Western  Australia  and  else- 
where, or  striking  out  in  other  avocations  of  life  because 
the  Civil  Service  has  become  so  utterly  distasteful 
to  them  and  destructive  of  their  true  manhood.  The 
time  was  when  permanent  under-secretaries  and  other 
heads  of  departments  were  allowed  to  select  those 
whom  they  considered  to  be  the  most  efficient  officers 
for  particular  positions,  and  their  recommendations  as 
to  advances  of  salaries  and  promotions  were  given 
effect  to  without  question.  All  that  is  altered  now,  and 
not  only  arc  under-secretaries  and  other  permanent 
heads  deprived  of  these  opportunities  to  do  what  they 
think  is  in  the  best  interests  of  the  public  service,  but 
they  are  forced  to  employ  most  incompetent  people  be- 
cause they  are  ordered  to  find  work  for  political  proti^ges^ 


NEW  ZEALAND  PARLIAMENTS 


337 


and  they  must  obey  this  peremptory  mandate  or  take  the 
consequences  of  non-compliance  with  what  is  nothing 
more  nor  less  than  a “ command/'  And  what  risks  the 
unfortunate  Civil  servant  runs  if  he  is  ‘‘  spotted  " in  the 
street  conversing  with  the  leader  of  the  Opposition  or  any 
other  member  on  that  side  of  the  House  ; or,  worse  still, 
with  any  member  of  that  gallant  little  band  known  as 
the  Left  Wing,  who  are  constantly  engaged  in  the  battle 
of  fearless  criticism  in  the  hope  of  restoring  purity  of 
administration  and  a pure  democracy.  He  is  no  longer 
of  the  right  colour  and  becomes  a marked  man.  And 
all  this  goes  on,  and  has  gone  on  for  years  now,  in 
a country  which  is  supposed  to  be  independent  and  free, 
and  where  people  are  supposed — how  erroneous  the 
supposition  is ! — to  breathe  the  untainted  atmosphere  of 
political  freedom  and  to  enjoy  the  full  rights  of  citizen- 
ship. The  reign  of  terror  which  prevails  there  makes 
this  an  impossibility,  and  it  is  as  well  the  people  of 
Great  Britain  should  know  it.  No  doubt  they  will  be 
surprised  at  the  revelation  that  in  what  is  generally  sup- 
posed to  be  a free,  enlightened,  and  self-governing 
Colony,  freedom  of  thought  and  speech  has  been  more 
than  muzzled  ; it  has  been  crushed  absolutely,  and  is  non- 
existent. And  yet  that  species  of  political  blasphemy 
is  constantly  indulged  in  which  misapplies  the  word 
democracy  to  autocratic  conditions  so  completely  at 
variance  with  what  could  possibly  exist  in  any  com- 
munity where  the  principles  of  pure  democracy  are 
faithfully  observed  and  given  effect  to.  Democracy, 
indeed ! Let  its  name  not  be  sullied  by  connecting 
it  with  the  things  that  have  been  going  on  in  New 
Zealand  since  Mr.  Ballance's  death.  Democracy  has  no 
connection  with  them. 

It  is  not  only  in  the  ranks  of  those  who  are  in 
Government  employment  that  this  reign  of  terror  pre- 
vails. Doctors,  lawyers,  and  other  public  men  have 

23 


338 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


been  affected  by  the  contagion,  and  have  been  duly 
impressed  with  the  “ indiscretion  — what  a constant 
reproach  it  must  be  to  their  inmost  minds  ! — of  saying 
fearlessly  what  they  feel  and  think.  Sometimes  they 
are  to  be  seen  at  social  laudatory  functions  to  the  powers 
that  be,  slinking  timidly  out  of  one  room  into  another, 
as  though  their  consciences  and  inner  manhood  told 
them  they  had  no  right  to  be  there,  giving  involuntary 
countenance  to  politically  worked-up  manifestations, 
which  they  detest  in  their  hearts.  But  it  would  not 
‘‘  pay  to  absent  themselves  ; and  so  the  whole  com- 
munity has  been  blighted  by  this  reign  of  terror,  by  this 
policy  of  “spoils  to  the  victors,  of  punishments  and 
rewards,”  until  feelings  of  personal  interest  have  domi- 
nated all  classes,  sapped  their  manliness,  and  made 
them  what  they  are — either  arrant  hypocrites  or  dumb, 
unresisting  spectators  of  a system  which  should  be  fear- 
lessly condemned  by  every  honest  man  who  has  the 
real  interests  of  a pure  and  untarnished  democracy  at 
heart.  If  South  Africa  has  been  aptly  termed  a land 
of  lies,  with  equal  appropriateness  New  Zealand  can  be 
described  politically  as  a land  of  cravens.  Their  spirit- 
less toleration  of  abuses,  constitutional  and  otherwise, 
has  no  parallel  even  in  autocratic  Russia. 


CHAPTER  XXXI 


MORE  REMARKS  UPON  PARLIAMENTARY  DECADENCE 
IN  NEW  ZEALAND 

HE  author  would  not  fulfil  his  task,  disagreeable 


X to  him  as  it  is,  if  he  did  not  throw  some 
additional  light  upon  the  subject  of  parliamentary 
decadence  referred  to  in  the  previous  chapter,  in  order 
that  his  readers  may  thoroughly  realise  the  pass  to 
which  parliamentary  government  in  New  Zealand  has 
been  reduced.  He  has  already  pointed  out  the  period 
at  which  this  decadence  began  and  the  causes  to  which 
it  can  be  ascribed.  He  has  also  drawn  attention  to 
the  system  of  nomination  to  the  Upper  House  under 
which  the  Government  has  secured  to  itself  an  enormous 
amount  of  power  and  patronage  altogether  repugnant 
to  the  principles  of  democracy  and  the  ideas  of  govern- 
ment of  the  people,  by  the  people,  and  for  the  people. 
He  has  drawn  the  picture  of  that  subservient  Chamber 
as  it  now  exists  ; and  he  has  also  shown,  with  regard 
to  the  House  of  Representatives,  why  it  is  that  so 
comparatively  few  men  of  standing  and  character  will 
consent  to  present  themselves  before  constituencies  for 
election.  He  will  now  continue  his  sketch  of  the  Lower 
House,  and  has  no  doubt  it  will  both  surprise  and 
interest  many  readers  in  Great  Britain.  Upon  one 
thing  they  may  positively  rely — that,  astounding  as  the 


340 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


portrayal  may  appear,  it  is  presented  without  the  least 
exaggeration  of  the  facts.  It  is  no  product  of  the 
imagination.  He  has  seen  it  and  felt  ashamed  of  a 
body  which  has  become  an  object  of  public  derision 
and  scorn,  and  if  any  one  doubts  the  contemptible 
position  it  has  got  itself  into,  let  him  peruse  the  files 
of  New  Zealand  newspapers  at  and  immediately  after 
the  end  of  last  year’s  session  ; let  him  go  through  the 
files  of  these  newspapers  throughout  the  length  and 
breadth  of  New  Zealand,  and  he  will  see  the  howl  of 
indignation  which  was  raised  in  their  editorial  and 
correspondence  columns  over  what  they  called  ‘‘The 
£40  steal  from  the  Treasury”;  in  other  words,  the 
voting  to  themselves  of  a sessional  allowance  of  £40  in 
addition  to  the  salary  of  ^240  a year  which  each  of 
them  draws  by  monthly  instalments  of  £20.  But  the 
author  must  not  anticipate  by  any  digression  here  upon 
a subject  which  he  intends  to  deal  with  later  on.  He 
merely  mentions  the  circumstance  to  direct  the  reader’s 
attention  to  sources  of  information  which  give  a clear 
indication  of  what  most  of  the  members  of  the  New 
Zealand  House  of  Representatives  are  capable  of  doing 
— for  themselves  ! 

Outside  the  Opposition  and  Left  Wing  ranks,  with 
a few  other  exceptions,  the  average  member  of  the 
New  Zealand  Parliament  is  a prince  of  cadgers.  He 
is  a past-master  in  the  art  of  getting  as  much  as  he 
can  “on  the  never,”  which  is  the  expressive  slang  of 
the  Colonies  to  indicate  that  he  never  parts  with 
anything  for  what  he  gets — if  he  can  possibly  help 
it.  He  receives  a salary  of  £240  a year,  has  a free 
railway  pass  which  enables  him  to  travel  through 
every  part  of  the  Colony  all  the  year  round,  and  by 
means  of  a complimentary  ticket  this  deadhead  can 
go  backwards  and  forwards  on  the  Wellington  and 
Manawatu  Company’s  line — the  only  private  company’s 


PARLIAMENTARY  DECADENCE 


341 


line  open  in  New  Zealand — while  Parliament  is  in 
session,  which  is  generally  from  three  to  four  months 
in  the  year.  He  is  allowed  his  expenses  to  and 
from  Wellington  to  attend  the  session ; in  addition 
to  this,  the  Union  Steamship  Company  allows  him 
to  travel  to  and  fro  on  its  steamers  at  half  fares  at 
any  time  during  the  sitting  of  Parliament,  and  a like 
privilege  is  allowed  his  wife.  Now,  one  would  suppose 
that  a salary  of  £240  a year  and  the  other  privileges 
which  have  been  enumerated  would  satisfy  him,  because 
they  are  vastly  in  excess  of  what  the  average  member 
of  Parliament  is  worth.  But  no  ; his  maw  is  too 
rapacious  to  be  satisfied.  He  must  have  more  still  ; 
so  at  the  commencement  of  last  year’s  session  a con- 
siderable number  of  them  actually  had  the  audacity 
to  suggest  that  a round-robin  should  be  presented  to 
the  Government  to  the  effect  that  all  members’  wives 
and  unmarried  sons  and  daughters  should  be  allowed  to 
travel  free  of  charge  upon  all  Government  railways  and 
steamers  carrying  mails.  There  were  other  members 
of  Parliament,  to  their  credit  be  it  recorded,  who  were 
roused  to  indignation  by  this  monstrous  proposal,  and 
therefore  it  came  to  nothing ; but  the  mere  suggestion 
of  such  a thing  shows  the  lengths  to  which  the  average 
member  on  a particular  side  of  the  House  is  capable 
of  going  to  secure  advantages  for  himself  at  the  public 
expense.  They  have  not  yet  gone  so  far  as  to  propose 
that  they  should  be  supplied  with  liquid  and  other 
refreshments  and  Havannas  to  smoke  at  the  Parliamen- 
tary Bellamy’s  ; but  it  has  often  happened  that  scores 
have  been  run  up  at  that  establishment  which  have 
never  been  wiped  off  the  slate,  and  the  House  Com- 
mittee has  been  driven  to  the  necessity  of  placing  these 
scores  in  the  list  of  bad  debts,  and  of  directing  Mr. 
Letham,  the  Custodian  of  Parliamentary  Buildings,  to 
insist  upon  accounts  being  paid  weekly. 


342  AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 

The  member  of  Parliament  has  more  privileges  still. 
He  has  a magnificent  library  placed  at  his  disposal,  and 
boxes  of  books  are  mailed  to  him  periodically  during 
the  recess  ; he  can  also  secure  the  loan  of  books  for 
his  friends.  He  lolls  upon  sumptuously  upholstered 
benches  and  capacious  armchairs  which  he  has  never 
before  in  his  life  been  accustomed  to ; he  can  use 
stationery  without  stint,  get  letters  and  telegrams 
franked  through  the  post,  and  has  the  unrestricted  run 
of  hot  and  cold  baths  at  the  public  cost.  Free  billiards 
have  not  yet  come  within  his  grasp — they  may  some 
day ; but  to  compensate  him  for  this  deprivation  he  has 
tennis  lawns,  balls  and  rackets  placed  at  his  disposal. 
He  has  public-paid  messengers  to  run  errands  for  him, 
and  altogether  finds  himself  in  clover  pastures  which  in 
his  wildest  dreams  he  never  could  have  hoped  to  enter 
but  for  the  parliamentary  decadence  which  has  come 
about.  Then  he  has  pleasure  excursions  upon  Govern- 
ment steamers  here,  there,  and  everywhere  to  look 
forward  to,  with  party  - organised  banquets,  smoke 
concerts,  and  other  sources  of  jollification.  Still  he 
wants  more,  and  gets  it.  A Royal  Commission  is 
appointed — New  Zealand  is  the  most  fruitful  country 
in  the  world  of  Royal  Commissions,  which  generally 
end  in  smoke — and  the  member  of  “ the  great  Liberal 
party  ’’  finds  himself  accommodated  with  a seat  upon  it 
at  a pound  a day  and  free  travel  all  round  the  compass. 
It  is  an  enjoyable  pleasure-trip  for  him,  and  the  pound 
a day  makes  a nice  little  addition  to  his  salary  of  ^240 
a year. 

In  a House  of  which  this  average  member  of  Parlia- 
ment is  a fair  sample  of  the  majority,  what  are  the  tone 
and  character  of  the  debates?  Need  the  question  be 
asked?  But,  as  it  has  been  put,  here  is  the  answer  to  it. 
Any  one  who  takes  the  trouble  to  peruse  Hansard 
Debates  before  and  since  this  Parliamentary  decadence 


PARLIAMENTARY  DECADENCE 


343 


set  in  will  soon  perceive  the  vast  difference  between  the 
two  periods.  Formerly,  the  proceedings  of  the  House 
were  dignified,  and  the  speeches  of  its  members,  in  most 
instances,  clear,  argumentative,  and  frequently  eloquent. 
What  are  they  now  ? Occasionally  a good  speech  is 
made  which  is  well  worth  listening  to,  but  it  does  not 
come  from  the  benches  on  which  the  average  represen- 
tative type  of  member  sits.  The  ear  of  the  listener  is 
generally  assailed  by  torrents  of  flatulent  declamation 
and  inane  drivel,  full  of  atrocious  English  in  which  the 
eighth  letter  of  the  alphabet  gets  roughly  handled. 
And  the  most  curious  point  of  all  is,  that  the  most 
uneducated  and  rough-spoken  are  generally  those  who 
bore  ” the  House  with  their  balderdash.  Some  thick- 
skinned  and  soi-disant  labour  leader,  with  more  im- 
pudence than  brains,  will  undertake  to  lecture  the 
opposite  side  with  all  the  vehement  stump  oratory  at 
his  command,  and  will  make  himself  ridiculous  by  a 
sing-song  dissertation  upon  social  and  political  problems 
when  it  is  quite  evident  that  he  has  not  the  remotest 
acquaintance  with  the  most  elementary  treatise  upon 
social  and  political  economy.  Some  other  equally 
illiterate  member  will  inflict  an  hour’s  speech,  if  the 
House  is  debating  the  Address  in  reply  or  discussing  a 
no-confidence  motion,  brimful  of  noisy  platitudes,  in- 
coherency, and  unintelligibleness.  And  so  the  afternoons 
and  evenings  succeed  each  other,  with  an  almost  con- 
tinuous stream  of  talk,  which  serves  only  to  exhibit  the 
ignorance,  incapacity,  and  servility  of  the  average 
member  of  the  New  Zealand  Parliament.  How  a man 
like  John  Burns  would  despise  such  men  as  these,  who 
have  the  presumption  to  call  themselves  democrats  ! 
Taking  down  this  deluge  of  twaddle  is  a positive 
degradation  of  Pitman’s  winged  art,  as  it  is  called  by 
shorthand  enthusiasts,  but  it  must  be  done  ; these  vapid 
utterances  must  be  reported  verbatim  in  the  first  person. 


344 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


because  Parliament  maintains  an  official  Hansard  to 
do  the  work  at  a cost  of  something  like  £6,000  a 
year.  Of  course,  the  reporters  turn  out  the  speeches 
in  readable  English,  but  the  illiterate  member  is  not 
satisfied  with  that.  He  must  be  supplied  with  the 
type-written  copy  of  his  speech,  and,  with  the  assistance 
of  some  educated  friend  or  brother  member,  he  sets  to 
making  what  he  calls  “corrections,”  introducing  new 
matter  and  excising  other  portions  until  the  original 
becomes  another  speech  altogether.  This  privilege  to 
make  corrections  is  shamefully  abused,  and  that  is  why 
Hansard  is  said  by  the  outside  public  to  contain,  not 
what  members  said,  but  what  they  intended  to  say. 

The  time  limit  has  been  tried,  and  is  now  in  force 
in  the  New  Zealand  House  of  Representatives.  Mem- 
bers are  allowed  to  speak  for  an  hour  each  upon  the 
Address  in  Reply  and  in  the  Budget  discussion — they 
cannot  be  dignified  by  the  word  debates — and  for  half 
an  hour  when  speaking  on  a Bill ; four  turns  of  ten 
minutes  each  upon  any  question  in  Committee,  and 
so  on.  Ministers  are  allowed  an  hour  in  moving  the 
second  reading  of  a Bill  and  in  replying.  There  is  no 
closure.  The  time  limit  was  introduced  in  the  hope 
that  it  would  shorten  discussion  and  prevent  stone- 
walling tactics,  but  it  has  failed  in  both  particulars.  It 
has  increased  the  flood  of  talk,  because  everybody 
speaks  now  ; and  it  will  be  seen  that  there  is  far  more 
discussion  than  when  the  House,  without  the  time 
limit  regulations,  consisted  of  ninety-five  members. 
Now  it  consists  of  seventy-four  members,  and  with  the 
time  limit  in  operation  it  has  been  proved  that  in  the 
same  number  of  months  Hansard  volumes  contain  one- 
third  more  printed  matter  than  they  used  to  do  in  the 
same  type  when  the  House  consisted  of  ninety-five 
members  and  the  time  limit  was  not  thought  of. 
Therefore,  this  interference  with  free  speech  in  Parlia- 


PARLIAMENTARY  DECADENCE 


345 


ment  has  not  been  attended  with  successful  results 
either  in  curtailing  the  quantity  of  printed  matter  or 
in  shortening  the  duration  of  a Session.  Its  results 
have  been  in  quite  the  opposite  direction. 

It  will  doubtless  be  asked  how  it  comes  about  that 
the  party  in  power  have  been  able  to  retain  office  so 
long,  and  how  it  is  they  came  back  from  the  elections 
of  December,  1899,  with  such  a large  majority?  That 
can  easily  be  explained.  At  the  bedrock  of  that 
explanation  lies  the  fact  that  with  them  it  has  been 
admittedly  all  along  a policy  of  “ spoils  to  the  victors.” 
As  a result  of  that  policy  came  the  reign  of  terror,  and 
there  are  several  other  factors  which  have  conduced  to 
the  general  result.  First  of  all,  the  system  of  co- 
operative works  could  be  manipulated  for  political 
purposes,  simply  by  sending  large  numbers  of  un- 
employed to  swell  the  rolls  in  electorates  where 
Government  candidates  were  weak.  Then  another 
great  factor  was  the  Old  Age  Pensions  Act,  which  it 
was  declared  the  Opposition  would  repeal  if  it  got 
into  power,  although  there  was  no  foundation  for  the 
statement.  Then,  again,  the  Government  party  was 
well  organised,  whilst  there  was  no  attempt  at  organisa- 
tion on  the  other  side,  and  Captain  Russell,  the 
Opposition  leader,  was  stricken  down  with  illness 
during  the  whole  of  the  election  campaign.  Leagues 
of  various  kinds,  consisting  mostly  of  political  touts 
and  billet-seekers,  were  hard  at  work  for  the  Govern- 
ment, registering  the  names  of  those  who  would  not 
take  the  trouble  to  go  to  the  registrar’s  office  them- 
selves, and  keeping  off  others  who  happened  to  let 
slip  to  these  house-to-house  canvassers  the  information 
that  they  were  opposed  to  the  Government.  Added  to 
all  these  causes,  the  Government  and  their  supporters 
had  facilities  which  the  Opposition  had  not  for  getting 
about  the  country  here,  there,  and  everywhere,  and 


34^ 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


delivering  electioneering  addresses.  Besides,  the  wives 
and  daughters  of  some  Ministers  were  sent  into  Opposi- 
tion and  Left  Wing  strongholds — Palmerston  North, 
for  example — to  organise  and  canvass,  though  in  Mr. 
Pirani^s  case  so  unsuccessfully,  against  candidates 
opposed  to  the  Ministry.  Special  trains  and  steamers 
were  availed  of  all  through  the  campaign,  at  the 
country’s  expense.  The  reason  has  already  been  given 
why  the  best  class  of  men  refuse,  as  a rule,  to  come 
forward  as  Parliamentary  candidates  nowadays  ; there- 
fore there  was  a limited  choice  of  candidates.  Another 
thing  favoured  the  chances  of  the  Ministry.  The 
country  was  in  a state  of  prosperity,  and  times  had 
been  prosperous  for  some  years : not  that  the  Govern- 
ment had  been  instrumental  in  any  way  in  bringing 
that  about.  That  prosperity  sprang  from  other  causes 
in  which  they  had  no  hand  : good  seasons,  good  crops, 
satisfactory  wool  clips,  expansion  of  the  frozen  meat 
trade,  gold-dredging  in  Central  Otago,  and  fair  prices 
generally  for  the  country’s  products.  It  is  the  experi- 
ence of  all  countries  that  at  times  when  things  are 
prosperous  there  is  a disposition  to  let  matters  remain 
as  they  are.  It  is  in  times  of  adversity  that  people  get 
stirred  up  politically  and  are  more  alert,  not  when  they 
are  doing  well,  as  was  the  case  in  New  Zealand  at  the 
elections  of  1899.  And  last,  but  by  no  means  least,  it 
must  be  remembered  that  Colonial  politics  means  to  a 
great  extent  roads  and  bridges.  For  years  the  repre- 
sentatives of  some  constituencies  had  been  vainly 
struggling  to  secure  for  these  electorates  their  fair 
proportion  of  the  public  expenditure.  These  electo- 
rates were  starved  because  their  representatives  were 
on  the  wrong  side  of  the  House,  until  at  last  the 
electors  sickened  of  the  starving  process,  and  deter- 
mined, very  much  against  the  grain,  to  put  in  other 
members  who  could  accomplish  more  for  them  in  the 


PARLIAMENTARY  DECADENCE 


347 


shape  of  public  expenditure  in  their  districts.  Now,  let 
the  reader  total  up  all  these  contributory  factors  in  the 
Parliamentary  campaign  of  December,  1899,  and  he 
will  at  once  get  the  explanation  of  how  it  was  the 
present  obedient  and  subservient  majority  finds  itself 
at  the  back  of  the  Government. 

It  is  a remarkable  coincidence  that  in  New  Zealand 
a Government  which  calls  itself  Liberal  and  democratic, 
without  the  least  claim  to  the  distinction,  is  supported 
by  the  liquor  party,  at  the  same  time  that  an  ultra- 
Tory  Administration  in  England  receives  support  from 
what  arrogantly  calls  itself  “ the  trade,”  whatever  that 
may  mean.  They  are  both  supported  by  the  party  of 
liquor — by  brewers,  wine  and  spirit  merchants,  hotel 
and  tavern  keepers.  New  Zealand  has  unfortunately 
come  under  that  degrading  influence  as  Great  Britain 
has  also  done,  and  that  is  one  very  potential  reason  why 
the  Colony  should  endeavour  to  extricate  itself  from 
this  baneful  infliction  of  liquor  domination  in  its 
political  affairs.  Only  a few  months  ago  a Christ- 
church brewer  was  “ called  ” to  the  Legislative  Council 
of  New  Zealand. 

There  are  signs  in  New  Zealand  of  a reaction  setting 
in.  The  public  seem  to  be  at  last  awakening  from  their 
lethargy  and  want  of  public  spirit  in  political  affairs. 
The  “ Forty-pound  steal  from  the  Treasury,”  so  univer- 
sally condemned  by  the  Press,  has  opened  their  eyes  a 
little  wider,  and  by  and  by  they  will  begin  wondering 
why  they  have  allowed  so  many  glaring  abuses  to  go  on 
unchecked.  This  last  shameful  instance  of  legislators 
helping  themselves  to  the  people’s  money  by  voting 
£40  as  a ‘‘  sessional  allowance  ” or  “ honorarium  ” — not 
by  a straightforward  amendment  of  the  Payment  of 
Members  Act,  but  by  the  insertion  of  certain  words  in 
the  Public  Revenues  Act — has  aroused  public  indigna- 
tion, and  that  is  a hopeful  sign.  It  was  a Session  of 


348 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


increases.  The  Governor's  salary  was  increased  by 
;^2,5oo ; the  Premier’s  was  raised  from  iJ*i,oco  to 
;£'i,6oo — a big  jump — that  of  the  Minister  of  Railways 
from  £Soo  to  ^1,300 — another  big  jump — and  the 
salaries  of  all  the  other  Ministers  from  .£’800  to  ^1,000. 
In  addition  to  these  salaries  they  have  always  been 
receiving  ^200  a year  as  House  allowance,  and  30s.  a 
day  and  other  Ministerial  allowances  when  absent  from 
Wellington,  as  they  very  frequently  are  for  considerable 
intervals.  The  Speaker’s  salary  was  raised  also,  so 
was  the  Chairman  of  Committees’.  It  was  a Session  of 
all-round  rises,  and  if  members  voted  for  these  increases, 
why  should  they  not  be  considered  also  ? Why  not  ? ” 
they  said  to  themselves,  and  accordingly  the  forty 
pounds  apiece  was  voted.  It  is  fair  to  say,  however, 
that  some  members  were  not  in  the  House  at  the  time 
the  thing  was  passed,  and  they  and  others  declined  to 
accept  the  money.  But  a big  lot  of  them  got  it  and 
stuck  to  it.  These  were  of  the  “ on  the  never  ” stamp 
of  humanity — those  to  whom  Number  One  is  the 
guiding  star  of  their  lives  and  actions.  One  of  the 
leading  newspapers  plainly  told  them  that  their  ;^40 
steal  was  an  act  which  might  be  expected  from  dele- 
gates to  Tammany  Hall.”  And  so  it  was. 

Since  the  decline  of  Parliament  and  the  very  marked 
inferiority  of  its  personnel  which  has  resulted  from  the 
degradation  of  public  and  political  life  in  New  Zealand, 
a practice  has  sprung  up  which  cannot  be  too  strongly 
reprobated  by  every  man  and  woman  in  the  community 
who  likes  fair  play  and  manliness  and  detests  both 
moral  and  physical  cowardice  and  falsehood  on  the 
part  of  those  who  sit  in  Parliament,  and  set  people 
wondering,  in  the  same  way  as  with  regard  to  the 
fly  in  amber,  how  they  got  there.  Without  a shred  of 
character  left,  and  with  antecedents  that  will  not  bear 
inquiring  into,  some  of  these  despicable  creatures, 


PARLIAMENTARY  DECADENCE 


349 


shielding  themselves  behind  the  cowardly  hedge  of 
parliamentary  privilege,  are  in  the  habit  of  making 
personal  attacks  upon  people  of  good  reputation  and 
standing  outside  the  House,  who  have  no  opportunity 
of  defending  themselves,  and  the  lying  statements  of 
these  members  are  published  to  the  world,  and  bound 
up  in  the  official  Debates,  without  any  redress  at  law  for 
the  punishment  of  the  authors  of  the  vilest  and  most 
foundationless  slanders  and  libels  upon  decent,  upright, 
and  honest  citizens.  These  statements  are  privileged 
by  a law  which  is  a disgrace  to  the  statute-book  of 
any  country,  and  ought  to  be  repealed.  What  sense 
of  justice  and  fair  play  is  there  in  a law  which 
specially  protects  members  of  Parliament  when  they 
attempt  to  damage  the  characters  of  honest  people, 
under  this  cowardly  shelter  of  Parliamentary  privilege, 
by  statements  which  are  absolutely  devoid  of  truth  ? 
If  the  practice  goes  on  much  longer  in  New  Zealand, 
it  will  surprise  nobody  to  find  some  day  that  a member 
has  been  soundly  and  most  deservedly  horsewhipped, 
or  an  ounce  of  lead  sent  through  his  head  as  the 
reward  of  his  vindictiveness  and  cowardice.  And  the 
popular  verdict  will  be,  that  it  served  him  right. 

Although  fisticuffs  have  never  yet  been  resorted  to 
in  the  Chamber  itself,  some  very  discreditable  scenes 
have  been  enacted  there  from  time  to  time,  amongst 
the  most  painful  being  one  which  occurred  between 
the  Speaker  and  the  late  Sir  Julius  Vogel  on  Novem- 
ber IS,  1887.  Many  other  scenes  have  taken  place  at 
intervals;  but  the  most  disgraceful  of  them  all  was  the 
one  which  happened  only  a couple  of  sessions  ago, 
when  the  lights  had  to  be  lowered  in  order  that  a 
member  in  a helpless  state  of  drunkenness  might  be 
carried  out  and  the  process  of  his  removal  screened 
as  much  as  possible  from  the  public  in  the  galleries. 
But  if  physical  conflicts  have  not  occurred  between 


350  AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 

members  in  the  Chamber  itself,  in  Bellamy’s  and  in 
the  lobbies  personal  encounters  have  occasionally 
happened,  with  blackened  eyes  and  bleeding  noses 
as  the  consequence,  to  those  most  conspicuous  in 
the  fray,  and  much  commotion  and  wrangling  amongst 
their  respective  sympathisers.  O tempora  ! O snores  ! 


CHAPTER  XXXII 

OLD  AGE  PENSIONS 

IT  was  in  1898  that  an  Act  was  passed  to  provide 
old  age  pensions  in  New  Zealand.  Under  the 
provisions  of  that  Act  the  following  conditions  must 
be  complied  with  before  any  pension  is  granted.  In  the 
first  place  he  or  she  must  be  sixty-five  years  of  age,  and 
must  be  residing  in  the  Colony  when  the  claim  to  the 
pension  is  established.  Secondly,  the  applicant  must 
have  resided  in  the  Colony  continuously  for  not  less  than 
twenty-five  years  immediately  preceding,  provided  that 
continuous  residence  in  the  Colony  shall  not  be  deemed 
to  have  been  interrupted  by  occasional  absences  there- 
from unless  the  total  period  of  all  such  absence  exceeds 
two  years,  nor  in  the  case  of  a seaman  by  absence  there- 
from while  serving  on  board  a vessel  registered  in  and 
trading  to  and  from  the  Colony,  if  he  establishes  the  fact 
that  during  such  absence  his  family  or  home  was  in 
the  Colony ; and  also  that  during  the  twelve  years 
immediately  preceding  such  date  he  has  not  been 
imprisoned  for  four  months,  or  on  four  occasions,  for 
any  offence  punishable  by  imprisonment  for  twelve 
months  or  upwards,  and  dishonouring  him  in  the  public 
estimation  ; and  also  that  during  the  period  of  twenty- 
five  years  immediately  preceding  such  date  he  has  not 
been  imprisoned  for  a term  of  five  years,  with  or 

351 


352 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


without  hard  labour,  for  any  offence  dishonouring 
him  in  the  public  estimation  ; and  also  that  the 
claimant  has  not  at  any  time  for  a period  of  six 
months  or  upwards,  if  a husband,  deserted  his  wife, 
or  without  just  cause  failed  to  provide  her  with 
adequate  means  of  maintenance,  or  neglected  to  main- 
tain such  of  his  children  as  were  under  the  age  of 
fourteen  years ; or,  if  a wife,  deserted  her  husband  or 
such  of  her  children  as  were  under  that  age.  It  is 
provided  that,  if  the  pension  certificate  is  issued,  the 
petitioner’s  rights  thereunder  shall  not  be  affected  by 
any  disqualification  unless  the  fact  of  such  disqualifi- 
cation is  established  at  any  time  to  the  satisfaction  of  a 
stipendiary  magistrate  ; and  also  that  he  is  of  good 
moral  character  and  is,  and  has  for  five  years  imme- 
diately preceding  such  date,  been  leading  a sober  and 
reputable  life  ; also  that  his  yearly  income  does  not 
amount  to  £^2  or  upwards,  that  the  net  capital  value  of 
his  accumulated  property  does  not  amount  to  £2^0 
or  upwards  ; that  he  has  not  directly  or  indirectly 
deprived  himself  of  property  or  income  in  order  to 
qualify  for  a pension.  Aboriginal  natives  of  New 
Zealand  are  eligible  for  pensions,  but  not  aliens, 
Chinese  or  other  Asiatics,  whether  naturalised  or 
not.  Naturalised  subjects  are  eligible  where  they 
have  been  naturalised  for  the  period  of  five  years 
next  preceding  the  date  on  which  they  establish  their 
pension  claims. 

The  full  pension  is  ;^i8  a year,  payable  in  twelve 
monthly  instalments  ; but  for  each  ;^i  of  income  above 
Z^34,  also  for  each  Z^i5  of  accumulated  property 
above  £^o,  £\  is  deducted  from  the  amount  of  the 
pension.  The  total  number  of  pensions  granted  up  to 
March  31,  1899,  was  7,487,  representing  a yearly  pay- 
ment of  28,082,  the  average  pensions  being  about 
£\y  2s.  The  number  of  pensions  granted  since  that 


OLD  AGE  PENSIONS 


obo 

time  has  considerably  increased,  and  the  amount  now 
required  is  ;^200,000.  (Budget  1900,  p.  14.) 

It  will  be  seen  that  under  the  New  Zealand  system  a 
man  or  woman  must  have  attained  the  age  of  sixty-five 
years  before  they  can  establish  a claim  to  a pension 
of  6s.  I id.  a week,  and  that  one  of  other  numerous  con- 
ditions is  that  before  an  applicant  can  be  successful  in 
establishing  his  or  her  claim  to  a pension,  it  must  be 
shown  that  they  have  resided  in  the  Colony  for  twenty- 
five  years  immediately  preceding  the  application,  with  an 
allowance  for  occasional  absences  unless  they  exceed 
two  years. 

The  money  required  for  these  old-age  pensions  is 
taken  out  of  the  consolidated  revenue  of  the  General 
Government  without  any  contribution  by  the  pensioners. 
In  other  words,  if  there  was  a deficit — and  many  a time 
there  have  been  deficits  in  New  Zealand,  but  not  of 
late  years — the  amount  required  for  old-age  pensions 
would  have  to  be  provided  by  means  of  deficiency  bills, 
the  diversion  of  revenue  from  other  objects  of  expendi- 
ture, direct  loan  for  the  purpose,  or  further  taxation. 

It  will  be  seen,  therefore,  that  old-age  pensions  in 
New  Zealand  rest  upon  no  solid  or  sure  foundation, 
because  there  is  no  knowing  when  a period  of  depression 
may  come  about,  or  how  long  the  Colony  will  be  able  to 
bear  the  annually-increasing  demand  upon  its  revenues 
for  these  pensions.  Therefore  no  political  economist 
will  be  found  to  admit  that  the  scheme  is  a financially 
sound  one,  or  is  deserving  of  being  called  a scheme  at 
all.  The  Treasurer  simply  says,  “ I have  a surplus  ; I will 
take  so  much  of  it  for  old-age  pensions,”  and  he  takes  it, 
just  as  he  would  take  any  other  number  of  thousands  to 
do  anything  else  with.  But  if  there  were  no  surplus,  and 
the  revenue  was  not  sufficient  to  pay  interest  upon  the 
enormous  public  debt  and  to  carry  on  the  necessary 
services  of  Government,  what  then  ? 

24 


354 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


Sir  Harry  Atkinson  had  all  these  contingencies  in  his 
mind  when  he  suggested  a system  of  compulsory  life 
insurance  to  provide  for  people  in  their  old  age.  It  is 
obviously  right  and  proper  that  old  age  should  be  pro- 
vided for  in  some  way  or  other,  and  Sir  Harry  Atkin- 
son’s idea  was  that  this  could  best  be  done  by  a system 
of  universal  contribution,  under  which,  at  the  qualifying 
age,  any  man  or  woman  in  the  community  could  claim  a 
pension  as  a right,  not  as  a charity  contribution  from  the 
State. 

That  is  what  a New  Zealand  old-age  pension  now  is, 
and  the  system  at  work  there  is  not  a solution  of  the 
problem  ; it  is  out-door  relief  pure  and  simple,  with  the 
high-sounding  title  of  old-age  pensions  applied  to  it.  It 
is  therefore  absurd  to  claim  that  New  Zealand  has  shown 
the  whole  world  how  to  deal  with  its  aged  poor,  and 
given  it  an  object  lesson  in  social  economics  which  it  can 
profit  by.  There  is  nothing  whatever  of  a statesmanlike 
character  in  the  haphazard  plan  which  has  been  adopted 
in  that  Colony,  nothing  which  imparts  to  it  any  measure 
of  permanence  or  an  assured  finance.  Such  a scheme 
has  yet  to  be  devised,  and  the  solution  of  the  problem 
will  not  be  achieved  until  right,  and  not  charity,  is 
made  the  basis  of  these  old-age  pensions. 

There  is  one  particular  feature  in  connection  with  the 
administration  of  the  Act  in  New  Zealand  which  makes 
that  measure  repugnant  to  a large  section  of  its  aged 
poor — people  who  have  been  in  good  positions  and  been 
reduced  to  want  through  causes  altogether  unavoidable. 
The  Act  provides  that  all  persons  applying  for  pensions 
must  appear  in  a stipendiary  magistrate’s  court  and  state 
their  circumstances  publicly  before  every  Tom,  Dick  and 
Harry  who  chooses  to  go  there.  Now,  many  highly 
respectable  and  deserving  poor  have  a pardonable  abhor- 
rence to  such  an  ordeal  as  this,  and  therefore  abstain 
from  sending  in  applications  when  they  are  in  sore  need 


OLD  AGE  PENSIONS 


355 


of  assistance.  They  would  rather  want  than  go  into 
open  court  and  relate  their  family  histories  and  the 
reasons  of  their  impecuniosity.  The  majority  of  people 
are  not,  of  course,  so  sensitive,  and  have  no  inward 
feelings  of  pride  to  contend  against  when  they  submit 
themselves  for  examination  to  substantiate  their  claims. 
Respect  is  always  due,  or  ought  to  be,  to  reduced 
gentility,  and  therefore  it  would  be  better  if  these 
examinations  were  conducted  in  camera  by  those  who 
are  appointed  to  decide  as  to  whether  or  not  the  appli- 
cants have  succeeded  in  establishing  their  claims  to 
pensions  out  of  the  Consolidated  Fund.  Under  that 
system  the  feelings  of  sensitive  people  would  be  respected 
in  their  old  age  and  reduced  circumstances,  and  there 
would  be  no  more  chance  of  fraud  or  imposition  than 
there  now  is  by  insisting  that  these  applications  must  be 
sustained  in  open  court.  Until  the  system  is  altered  in 
that  way,  a considerable  number  of  most  deserving 
people  will  be  excluded  from  participation  in  this 
provision  for  out-door  relief  which  is  misnamed  old-age 
pensions. 


CHAPTER  XXXIII 

WOMANHOOD  SUFFRAGE 

New  ZEALAND  was  the  first  British  possession 
to  grant  the  franchise  to  women  at  Parliamentary 
elections,  the  next  to  follow  being  South  Australia  a 
year  afterwards,  namely,  in  1894. 

In  New  Zealand  the  Legislative  Council  passed  the 
Bill  conferring  the  franchise  on  women  on  the  8th  of 
September,  1893.  was  carried  by  a majority  of  only 
two  votes,  and  one  of  these  was  cast  in  its  favour  inad- 
vertently by  an  aged  Councillor  who  found  afterwards 
that  he  had  voted  on  the  wrong  side.  However,  it 
passed  and  was  placed  on  the  statute-book  very  shortly 
afterwards,  and  in  full  time  to  allow  of  its  being  brought 
into  operation  at  the  general  election  on  the  28th 
November,  1893.  Female  franchise  was  previously 
brought  forward  in  Parliament  by  Sir  John  Hall,  who 
did  not  succeed  in  passing  it. 

Amongst  the  women  of  New  Zealand  there  was  never 
anything  in  the  nature  of  a general  demand  for  this  piece  of 
legislation.  The  agitation  in  its  favour  was  confined  to  a 
comparatively  small  section  of  New  Zealand’s  woman- 
kind, mostly  composed  of  women  agitators  of  the 
hysterical  type,  and  those  who  had  direct  personal  and 
political  interests  to  serve.  Nothing  is  more  certain  than 
that  if  the  question  had  been  relegated  to  a Referendum 

- 350 


WOMANHOOD  SUFFRAGE 


357 


of  New  Zealand's  womankind,  the  proposal  to  confer 
the  franchise  upon  them  would  have  been  rejected  by 
an  overwhelming  majority.  They  did  not  want  it ; 
they  had  no  desire  to  take  part  in  politics  ; they  con- 
sidered that  men  only  should  engage  in  that  sort  of 
thing ; and  as  a matter  of  fact  thousands  of  the  best 
class  of  women  absolutely  refused  to  register  their  votes, 
or  to  record  them,  if  registered,  at  the  general  election. 
Afterwards  they  found  it  necessary  to  do  so  in  self- 
defence,  but  they  did  it  very  much  against  their 
inclinations. 

The  movement  for  female  franchise  outside  of  Parlia- 
ment was  never  a strong  one ; it  never  ‘‘  caught  on,"  as 
they  say  of  a play,  and  it  was  the  apathy  of  the  great 
bulk  of  women  themselves  which  enabled  the  compara- 
tively few  agitators  amongst  them  to  have  the  proposal 
submitted  to  Parliament. 

And  when  it  got  there  in  1893  what  was  the  spectacle 
presented  ? In  its  reception  and  treatment  by  the 
Lower  House  many  members  supported  it  absolutely 
against  their  opinions  and  convictions,  and  walked  into 
the  ayes  lobby  under  the  certain  belief  that  the  Legis- 
lative Council,  as  it  had  done  before,  would  throw  the 
Bill  out  when  it  reached  that  branch  of  the  Legislature 
for  final  acceptance  or  rejection.  Had  these  members 
known  that  there  was  a possible  chance  of  the  Bill 
passing  that  Chamber,  the  division  upon  it  in  the  House 
of  Representatives  would  have  shown  a considerable 
majority  against  the  Bill.  They  were  deceived,  how- 
ever, in  their  reliance  upon  the  Upper  House  to  throw 
it  out,  and  they  were  mad  with  themselves  that  they 
had  not  honestly  and  straightforwardly  assisted  in 
strangling  the  measure  before  it  got  there.  Of  course, 
their  hypocrisy  and  insincerity  were  properly  punished 
by  the  unexpected  course  of  events  in  the  Legislative 
Council,  and  so  the  Bill  came  to  be  passed  there  by  a 


358  AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 

majority  of  two  votes,  one  of  which  was  given  under  a 
misapprehension.  Such  is  the  true  history  connected 
with  the  passing  of  the  Act  conferring  the  franchise  upon 
adult  women  in  New  Zealand. 

Let  us  see  how  far  that  measure  has  justified  the  prog- 
nostications of  its  advocates  and  supporters.  One  of 
the  arguments  used  in  support  of  it  was  that  the  admis- 
sion of  women  to  a participation  in  political  affairs  would 
not  only  improve  the  tone  of  public  and  political  life  in 
New  Zealand,  but  would  improve  the  character,  reputa- 
tion and  standing  of  its  House  of  Representatives.  It 
was  argued  that  women’s  influence  would  be  exerted 
in  the  selection  of  men  of  unsullied  reputation,  and  that 
none  but  candidates  of  good  and  unblemished  character 
and  honesty  of  purpose  could  ever  hope  to  enter  the 
elective  branch  of  the  Legislature.  Has  female  franchise 
ensured  these  results?  No  one  with  a spark  of  honesty 
and  candour  can  say  that  it  has.  Not  only  has  it  not 
fulfilled  any  one  of  the  improving  and  refining  services 
which  were  claimed  for  it  when  the  measure  was  before 
Parliament,  but  as  an  absolute  fact  public  and  political 
life,  and  the  personnel  of  Parliament  itself,  have  degen- 
erated to  a most  deplorable  degree  ever  since  the 
introduction  of  female  franchise  at  parliamentary 
elections  in  that  Colony.  The  author  does  not  say  that 
this  is  solely  owing  to  the  franchise  per  se^  but  it  is 
responsible  in  a large  measure  for  the  degeneracy  and 
decadence  which  have  happened  ever  since  it  came  into 
operation  in  New  Zealand.  Account  for  it  as  the 
supporters  and  apologists  of  the  system  may,  the 
fact  remains  that  the  course  has  been  a downward  one 
ever  since  its  introduction.  Three  general  elections 
have  taken  place  since  then,  at  intervals  of  three  years 
between  each  of  them,  and  what  do  we  find  ? That  the 
character  of  the  House  elected  in  1893  was  of  a lower 
grade  than  the  House  of  1890,  that  the  House  chosen 


WOMANHOOD  SUFFRAGE 


359 


in  1896  was  inferior  even  to  that  of  1893,  that  the 
one  returned  in  1899  is  of  a kind  which  must  render  it 
exceedingly  irksome  to  men  of  character,  honesty  and 
independence  to  sit  in  it  in  such  company.  Such  is  the 
result  after  the  female  franchise  has  been  in  operation 
ever  since  the  general  election  of  1893.  It  shows  that 
character  has  had  absolutely  nothing  to  do  with  the 
choice  of  candidates  at  these  three  general  elections, 
and  that  fact  is  emphasised  by  the  circumstance  of  one 
member  being  re-elected  at  the  1 899  election  who  in  the 
session  previously  had  to  be  carried  out  of  the  House  in 
a state  of  helpless  intoxication,  with  lights  specially 
lowered  to  conceal  his  identity  and  the  process  of  removal 
Other  men  equally  characterless  were  re-elected  also  in 
the  same  year.  These  are  facts  which  cannot  be  denied. 
Now,  it  cannot  be  advanced  on  behalf  of  female  franchise 
in  New  Zealand  that  it  is  in  an  experimental  stage, 
because  it  has  been  in  operation  for  over  seven  years, 
with  abundant  opportunities  in  the  meantime  to  justify 
its  existence.  This  it  has  utterly  failed  to  do. 

Whilst  exercising  no  influence  or  control  in  the  selec- 
tion of  good  men  to  represent  them,  let  us  see  now  the 
other  things  that  female  franchise  has  done. 

It  has  brought  into  existence  a number  of  organisa- 
tions for  purely  personal  and  party  purposes,  whose  only 
aim  is  to  keep  a certain  set  of  men  in  power  and  to  get 
men  returned  to  the  House,  it  matters  not  who  they 
may  be  so  long  as  they  pledge  themselves  to  vote  in  a 
certain  way  and  to  kennel  up  at  the  cracking  of  the 
party  whip.  These  organisations  are  for  the  most  part 
composed  of  an  unintelligent  and  illiterate  class  of  people 
who  are  the  dupes  of  leaders  who  have  personal  interests 
to  serve — political  touts  who  display  great  activity, 
especially  at  election  times,  in  order  to  secure  billets 
either  for  themselves  or  their  friends  ; and  in  the  case  of 
men  either  to  get  billets  for  themselves,  their  sons, 


360 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


daughters,  or  other  relatives.  And  they  invariably 
succeed.  Perhaps  it  is  their  ambition  to  be  subsequently 
selected  as  candidates  of  the  party  or  to  be  called  to  the 
Upper  House  as  shining  lights  of  the  “great  liberal’^ 
confraternity.  Everything  comes  to  the  man  who  waits, 
and  the  rewards  come  to  these  political  touts  some  day  ; 
that  can  safely  be  reckoned  on. 

They  are  supposed  to  have  a Corrupt  Practices  Pre- 
vention Act  in  New  Zealand,  but  a coach  and  four  is 
constantly  driven  through  it,  and  things  are  done  which 
would  not  be  tolerated  in  any  other  part  of  the  world. 
A favourite  device  of  these  party  organisations  is  for  its 
members  to  set  out  on  canvassing  expeditions  from  house 
to  house.  They  produce  claims  to  vote  to  those  who 
have  not  been  sufficiently  interested  in  politics  to  take 
the  trouble  of  going  to  the"^  registrar’s  office  to  register 
their  claims.  They  induce  them  to  fill  up  these  forms, 
taking  care  to  wheedle  out  of  them  v/hat  their  political 
views  are.  If  they  are  antagonistic,  these  claims  never 
reach  the  registrar’s  office.  They  are  taken  away  with 
the  assurance  that  they  will  be  registered,  but  they  are 
cast  into  the  fire,  and  when  the  men  or  women  go  to 
the  booths  on  election  day  they  find  that  their  names 
are  not  upon  the  rolls.  Hundreds  of  people  are  cheated 
of  their  votes  in  this  way,  and  yet  the  system  is  allowed 
to  go  on  from  one  election  to  another. 

One  thing  more  the  female  franchise  has  done.  It  has 
swelled  the  electoral  rolls  immensely  and  added  pro- 
portionately to  their  cost.  In  the  majority  of  cases  the 
sons  and  daughters  of  a household  will  vote  as  their 
fathers  and  mothers  vote,  but  there  are  numbers  of 
instances  where  the  female  franchise  is  the  cause  of 
great  family  dissension.  Wives  vote  for  one  candidate? 
or  candidates  in  the  case  of  city  electorates,  whilst  their 
husbands  vote  for  those  of  an  opposite  party,  and  sons 
and  daughters  differ  from  their  parents  and  each  other 


WOMANHOOD  SUFFRAGE 


361 

in  the  same  way.  The  whole  family  circle  is  divided 
against  itself,  and  it  is  easy  to  conceive  what  the  result 
is ; in  some  instances  serious  trouble  is  the  consequence. 

The  franchise  is  conferred  upon  every  female  in  the 
Colony  as  soon  as  she  attains  her  twenty-first  year.  As 
with  the  men,  so  with  the  women,  it  is  practically 
womanhood  suffrage,  with  the  one-man-one-vote  prin- 
ciple allied  to  it.  The  cook  or  parlourmaid  has  the 
same  voice  as  her  mistress  in  the  selection  of  members 
of  the  House  of  Representatives,  just  as  the  employer  of 
hundreds  of  men  has  no  more  “ say  ” than  any  one  of 
them  on  election  day. 

As  applied  to  men,  the  author  holds  the  view  that 
manhood  suffrage  with  conditions  and  with  the  one- 
man-one-vote  principle,  should  be  the  prevailing  system 
in  any  country  at  all  parliamentary  elections.  The 
theory  is  good,  but  the  practice,  as  he  has  seen  it  in  New 
Zealand,  is  not  altogether  satisfactory.  It  does  seem 
not  quite  the  proper  thing  that  a mere  bird  of  passage 
who  has  qualified  himself  by  a twelve  months’  residence 
in  the  Colony  and  three  months  in  the  electoral  district 
he  registers  in,  who  may  be  a very  worthless  fellow — 
one  who  is  prepared  to  sell  his  vote  for  a pint  of  beer — 
should  have  the  same  voice  in  the  selection  of  candidates 
as  the  man  who  is  permanently  settled  in  the  place  and 
has  a very  large  stake  in  the  country,  and  a real  interest 
in  the  proper  government  of  it.  When  one  sees  the 
worthless  pint-of-beer  elector  going  into  the  polling 
booth  with  the  same  amount  of  power  as  the  biggest 
employer  of  labour  in  the  community,  one  must  confess 
that  he  beholds  one  of  the  worst  features  in  the  theory 
and  practice  of  universal  suffrage.  But  how  is  it  to  be 
remedied  so  as  to  justify  its  existence  in  countries  where 
it  prevails  and  its  extension  to  other  countries  where  it 
has  not  yet  been  adopted  ? Surely  it  is  possible  to 
impose  character  and  intelligence  conditions  which  will 


362 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


divest  universal  suffrage  of  what  is  so  plainly  objection- 
able in  the  system,  and  causes  thinking  men  to  hesitate 
before  they  will  be  parties  to  its  adoption. 

What  applies  to  manhood  applies  equally  to  woman- 
hood suffrage  in  New  Zealand — some  women  are  allowed 
to  vote  there  who  should  never  be  permitted  to  enter 
a polling  booth.  The  author,  in  order  that  he  might 
write  from  his  own  knowledge  about  the  female  franchise 
and  the  exercise  of  it,  has  stood  at  the  central  polling 
booth  in  the  city  of  Wellington  at  three  general  elections, 
and  has  seen  political  touts  return  from  the  slums  oft 
Taranaki  Street,  with  numbers  of  female  voters  belong- 
ing to  the  demi-monde  class,  and  these  women  have 
recorded  their  votes  just  as  respectable  women  in  the 
community  would  do.  There  the  process  of  expurgation 
might  be  very  legitimately  applied,  just  as  worthless 
men  should  be  deprived  of  electoral  privileges  they  are 
incapable  of  exercising  in  the  true  interests  of  the 
country. 

It  will  be  seen  on  reference  to  the  statistics  at  the 
end  of  this  volume  that  at  each  succeeding  general 
election  which  has  taken  place  since  the  female  franchise 
came  into  operation,  a smaller  percentage  of  women 
on  the  electoral  rolls  have  recorded  their  votes.  This 
is  owing  to  the  well-ascertained  fact  that  the  franchise 
is  distasteful  to  a great  number  of  the  better  class  of 
women,  many  of  whom,  after  their  names  are  placed 
upon  the  rolls,  absent  themselves  from  the  polling 
booths  on  election  day  because  of  the  limited  choice  of 
eligible  candidates  which  has  resulted  from  the  de- 
generacy of  parliamentary  institutions  in  the  colony. 

The  author  has  no  hesitation  in  declaring  that  female 
franchise  in  New  Zealand  has  failed  utterly  in  producing 
any  beneficial  results,  and  if  any  one  is  doubtful  of  his 
verdict,  let  him  go  there  and  see  for  himself.  He  will 
have  his  eyes  opened,  not  only  with  reference  to  the  low 


WOMANHOOD  SUFFRAGE 


363 


status  to  which  Parliament  has  been  reduced,  but  with 
regard  also  to  the  abuses  and  corrupt  practices  which 
are  the  products  of  that  system.  If  his  inquiries  be  as 
searching  as  the  author's,  and  his  opportunities  for  obser- 
vation equally  extensive,  he  will  return  to  England  a 
most  uncompromising  opponent  of  female  franchise. 


CHAPTER  XXXIV 

INDUSTRIAL  CONCILIATION  AND  ARBITRATION— COST 
OF  GOVERNMENT — PAYMENT  OF  MEMBERS 

IN  1890,  a great  maritime  strike  occurred  in  the 
Colonies,  and  whilst  it  lasted  trade  was  to  a con- 
siderable extent  paralysed,  and  a large  number  of  men 
were  thrown  out  of  employment.  Capital  in  the  end 
proved  too  strong  for  them,  and  to  the  workers  this 
strike  was  little  short  of  disastrous,  as  many  of  them 
were  never  reinstated,  and  had  to  seek  employment  else- 
where, or  in  other  avocations  of  life.  That  strike 
demonstrated  the  necessity  there  was  for  the  introduc- 
tion of  laws  to  prevent  strikes  and  lock-outs  for  the 
future,  and  to  place  the  relations  of  workmen  and  their 
employers  upon  such  a footing  as  would  secure  industrial 
peace  and  goodwill  amongst  them.  When  the  Hon. 
W.  P.  Reeves  was  Minister  of  Labour,  that  gentleman, 
in  1894,  carried  through  the  New  Zealand  Parliament 
his  Industrial  Conciliation  and  Arbitration  Act.  Mr. 
Reeves  was  actuated  by  a sincere  and  laudable  desire, 
not  only  to  make  strikes  and  lock-outs  impossible 
occurrences  in  that  country,  but  to  provide  lawful 
remedies  for  the  peaceful  settlement  of  all  industrial 
disputes  upon  a basis  which  would  be  equitable  and  fair 
to  both  sides.  This  was  evident  from  the  fact  that  on 
the  conciliation  boards  which  he  proposed  to  establish, 

3^ 


INDUSTRIAL  CONCILIATION  AND  ARBITRATION  363 

as  well  as  in  the  Court  of  Arbitration  itself,  labour  and 
capital  should  have  an  equal  amount  of  representation. 
Therefore  there  was  everything  that  was  commendable 
in  Mr.  Reeves’  plan  for  the  solution  of  the  difficulty  as 
between  employers  and  employed,  and  great  hopes  were 
held  out  that  the  Act  which  Mr.  Reeves  was  instru- 
mental in  placing  upon  the  Statute  Book  would  serve 
all  the  purposes  it  was  intended  to  provide  for.  Un- 
fortunately, Mr.  Reeves  did  not  continue  at  the  head  of 
the  Labour  Department,  and  ever  since  his  withdrawal 
from  the  Colony  to  London,  his  Act  has  been  adminis- 
tered in  such  a way  as  to  render  it  nothing  more  nor 
less  than  a piece  of  machinery  for  party  purposes. 

It  was  Mr.  Reeves’  idea  that  when  a dispute  arose 
between  the  employers  and  workers  in  any  particular 
trade,  that  dispute  should  be  referred  first  of  all  to  a 
conciliation  board,  consisting  of  two  representatives  of 
employers  and  two  of  labour,  with  a chairman  appointed 
from  outside  by  the  board,  or,  when  the  board  did  not 
choose  a chairman,  then  he  was  to  be  appointed  by  the 
Governor,  which  of  course  means  the  Government  of 
the  day.  This  was  a mistake,  for  it  has  since  been 
shown  that  where  a board  fails  to  elect  its  chairman,  the 
Government  has  invariably  placed  a staunch  party  sup- 
porter in  that  position.  This  was  not  all.  Since  con- 
ciliation boards  have  been  in  existence,  the  labour 
organisations  have  in  very  few  instances  placed  the 
best  men  that  could  be  found  upon  these  boards ; on 
the  contrary,  political  hangers-on  have  worked  them- 
selves into  the  position  of  representatives,  and  the  result 
is  that  the  conciliation  boards  have  not  fulfilled  the 
purpose  for  which  they  were  intended.  The  system  of 
remunerating  them  is  a bad  one.  They  are  each  paid 
a guinea  a day ; it  is  a case  of  more  days  more  dollars, 
and  the  result  is  that  the  proceedings  of  these  boards 
are  protracted  to  the  most  unconscionable  lengths. 


366 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


This,  however,  is  not  the  worst  that  can  be  recorded 
against  them.  It  has  been  proved  beyond  denial  that 
in  some  instances  the  members  of  these  boards  (labour 
representatives)  have  gone  amongst  trades  unions  and 
fomented  disputes  between  the  men  and  their  employers 
in  order  that  cases  might  be  brought  before  these  boards. 
For  confirmation  of  this  fact  readers  are  referred  to  the 
howl  of  indignation  which  was  raised  last  year  by  the 
newspapers.  In  fact,  the  scandal  became  so  great  that 
these  papers  advocated  that  unless  the  personnel  of 
conciliation  boards  was  improved  they  should  be  wiped 
out  of  existence  altogether. 

It  has  been  shown  times  out  of  number  that  em- 
ployers have  been  cited  before  conciliation  boards  when, 
as  a matter  of  fact,  the  relations  between  themselves 
and  their  men  were  most  harmonious  and  satisfactory 
to  both. 

The  working  of  these  conciliation  boards  has  been  so 
mischievous  and  ineffectual  as  to  demonstrate  quite 
clearly  that  they  ought  to  be  done  away  with.  What 
is  the  result  of  their  existence?  Continuous  warfare 
between  employers  and  employed  from  one  end  of  the 
Colony  to  the  other,  and  pages  of  newspapers  con- 
tinually filled  with  the  protracted  proceedings  of  these 
boards  as  an  outcome  of  the  more  days  more  dollars 
principle  of  paying  for  their  services.  From  the  author's 
observation  of  these  procq^ings  he  is  convinced  that  it 
would  be  proper  policy  to  abolish  these  boards  ; they 
are  unnecessary,  costly,  and  irritating,  and  effect  no 
good  purpose,  because  the  number  of  disputes  they  are 
instrumental  in  settling  is  ridiculously  small  compared 
with  those  which  are  carried  beyond  them  to  the  Arbi- 
tration Court.  It  would  be  far  better  if  all  trade  dis- 
putes were  taken  direct  to  that  Court ; but  conciliation 
boards  are  maintained  because  of  the  use  that  is  made 
of  them  for  political  purposes. 


INDUSTRIAL  CONCILIATION  AND  ARBITRATION  367 

It  is  different  with  the  Arbitration  Court.  This  body 
has  done  really  good  service  to  the  country.  It  consists 
of  a Supreme  Court  Judge  and  two  other  members,  one 
of  them  elected  by  employers'  associations  and  the  other 
by  the  trades  unions.  Mr.  Justice  Williams  and  Mr. 
Justice  Edwards  have  both  recognised  that  capital  and 
labour  have  each  their  responsibilities,  and  they  have 
been  ably  assisted  in  upholding  that  principle  by  the 
two  other  members  of  the  Court,  Mr.  Samuel  Brown 
and  Mr.  Slater.  Both  these  gentlemen  have  always 
acted  upon  the  policy  of  give  and  take  in  the  settlement 
of  industrial  disputes,  with  the  result  that  when  their 
awards  have  been  pronounced — and  these  can  be  en- 
forced by  law — they  have  given  satisfaction  to  both 
sides.  Not  only  this,  but  the  sound  and  common-sense 
nature  of  their  decisions  has  tended  to  prevent  indus- 
trial contention  between  men  and  their  employers. 
Why  ? Simply  because  the  Arbitration  Court  is  beyond 
the  reach  of  political  influence  or  control. 

Not  so  the  conciliation  boards ; they  foment  rather 
than  discourage  industrial  disputations,  and  apart  from 
the  party  uses  they  are  put  to,  there  is  this  other  feature 
about  them  which  shows  what  useless  bodies  they  are. 
They  are  composed  of  one  set  of  men  for  a definite 
period.  During  their  term  of  office,  industrial  disputes 
of  all  kinds  are  referred  to  them.  Their  members  may 
belong  to  two  particular  trades,  with  the  technicalities 
of  which  they  may  be  familiar,  but  there  are  numbers  of 
other  cases  in  which  they  are  grossly  ignorant  of  the 
nature  of  these  trades  or  the  principles  and  processes 
under  which  they  are  conducted.  How,  therefore,  can 
they  give  an  intelligent  judgment  in  cases  where  they 
possess  no  expert  knowledge  ? Labour  representatives 
upon  conciliation  boards  act  generally  upon  the  prin- 
ciple that  capital  must  be  saddled  with  all  the  obliga- 
tions and  responsibility,  whilst  labour  should  go  scot  free. 


368 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


They  are  encouraged  in  this  by  what  labour  repre- 
sentatives in  Parliament  say  upon  the  subject.  A few 
sessions  ago  one  of  these  parliamentarians,  a working 
compositor,  who  had  been  pitchforked  from  his  frame  at 
the  Government  Printing  Office  into  the  Legislative 
Council,  declared  from  his  place  in  that  Chamber  that 
he  considered  it  was  the  duty  of  every  working  man  to 
obtain  the  highest  wages  he  could,  and  to  do  as  little 
work  as  possible  for  it. 

The  man  who  talked  this  nonsense  is  a typical  labour 
representative  in  the  New  Zealand  Parliament  to-day, 
and  it  is  men  of  this  description  who  are  doing  so  much 
harm  in  industrial  affairs  at  the  Antipodes.  They  are 
going  from  one  extreme  to  another,  and  unless  trades- 
unionists  get  men  of  more  brains  and  common-sense 
to  lead  them,  trades-unionism  will  fall  to  pieces.  What 
has  been  the  result  of  such  men  being  chosen  on  con- 
ciliation boards  and  sent  into  Parliament?  To  keep  up 
a continuous  state  of  industrial  warfare,  to  prevent  the 
expansion  of  industrial  enterprise  upon  the  scale  it 
would  otherwise  advance,  and  to  lock  up  in  the  banks 
the  millions  of  capital  now  lying  there  at  short  rates  of 
interest,  because  capitalists  are  frightened  to  embark  in 
industrial  undertakings  of  any  kind  in  the  existing  con- 
dition of  affairs. 

The  failure  of  the  Act  may  be  attributed  to  that 
portion  of  it  which  relates  to  boards  of  conciliation, 
which  are  nothing  in  the  nature  of  what  their  name 
implies.  These  boards  are  a constant  source  of  irri- 
tation to  employers,  and  the  cost  and  loss  of  time 
entailed  upon  employers  and  employed  are  enormous. 

Therefore,  let  conciliation  boards  be  abolished,  and 
the  next  step  that  should  be  taken  is  to  insist  that 
every  registered  union  shall  belong  to  a central  council 
of  unions,  that  it  shall  contribute  per  capita  to  a central 
fund  to  meet  awards.  No  union  should  be  able  to  go 


INDUSTRIAL  CONCILIATION  AND  ARBITRATION  369 

to  the  Arbitration  Court  without  the  consent  of  the 
federal  council.  Such  a system  as  this  would  greatly 
reduce  the  smaller  issues  which  are  now  raised  in  these 
abortive  boards  of  conciliation.  The  Arbitration  Court 
would  sit  three  or  four  times  a year  at  Wellington, 
consisting  of  a Supreme  Court  Judge  and  associates 
chosen  in  this  way ; every  year  each  union  would 
appoint  its  representative  on  the  Federal  Council,  and 
this  representative  would  act  as  the  representative  of 
that  union  if  a dispute  in  which  it  was  immediately 
concerned  were  taken  to  the  Arbitration  Court.  The 
result  would  be  that  the  unions  would  select  their  most 
able  men  to  represent  them  on  the  Federal  Council,  and 
that  the  President  of  the  Arbitration  Court  would  have 
the  assistance  of  two  experts  at  all  times,  one  repre- 
senting labour  and  the  other  the  employers  concerned 
in  each  dispute.  Days  would  suffice  for  the  weeks  it 
now  takes  the  Arbitration  Court  to  transact  the  busi- 
ness before  it,  the  duplication  of  disputes  under  the 
conciliation  board  system  would  be  avoided,  each  side 
would  pay  its  own  costs,  and  all  the  heat  and  irritating 
surroundings  of  these  boards  would  be  obviated.  Had 
such  a system  been  in  force.  New  Zealand  unions  would 
have  fared  far  better  than  they  have  done  under  the 
present  plan  of  conciliation  boards,  and  an  Arbitration 
Court  consisting  of  a judge  and  two  permanent  asso- 
ciates who  may  not  be  conversant  with  the  techni- 
calities of  the  large  variety  of  trade  disputes  now 
referred  to  the  Court. 

The  author  has  been  absolutely  astounded  at  the 
statements  which  have  found  their  way  into  print 
about  New  Zealand  being  a land  of  industrial  peace. 
These  statements  are  made  by  persons  who  have  taken 
a run  of  a few  weeks  through  the  Colony,  and  have  got 
their  information  from  quarters  upon  which  no  reliance 
can  be  placed.  These  birds  of  passage  appear  to 

25 


370 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


throw  themselves  straight  into  the  arms  of  those  who 
wilfully  mislead  them,  and  the  result  is  that  New 
Zealand  is  misrepresented  as  a land  of  industrial  pe^ce 
when  in  point  of  fact  it  is  a land  of  industrial  warfare 
of  a very  acute  type.  Let  any  one  who  wants  to  see 
what  is  happening  there  go  through  the  files  of  New 
Zealand  newspapers,  and  he  will  have  his  eyes  opened 
as  to  the  true  state  of  affairs  so  far  as  employers  and 
employed  are  concerned. 

The  total  number  of  industrial  disputes  referred  to 
Conciliation  Boards  since  the  Industrial  Conciliation 
and  Arbitration  Act  came  into  operation  (namely,  from 
April,  1896,  to  March,  1900),  was  90.  Of  these  90 
disputes  29 — not  quite  a third — were  settled  by  the 
Boards,  3 were  partly  settled  by  them,  and  one  case  was 
settled  apart  from  the  Board  before  which  it  was  taken. 
Thus  it  appears  (according  to  the  official  return  laid 
before  the  Legislative  Council  last  session)  that  the 
Board  of  Conciliation  failed  to  effect  settlements  in  no 
less  than  57  industrial  disputes,  which  had  therefore 
to  be  sent  on  to  the  Court  of  Arbitration. 

The  Conciliation  Boards  took  134  days  to  dispose 
of  the  29  cases  they  settled  between  the  employers  and 
employed,  and  were  engaged  for  eight  days  on  the  three 
cases  they  partly  settled,  and  one  day  upon  the  case  of 
the  Wellington  linotypists,  which  was  settled  apart  from 
the  Board. 

The  total  number  of  industrial  disputes  arising  from 
April,  1896,  to  March,  1900  (90)  were  brought  by  trade 
unions,  representing  tailoresses,  bakers,  painters, 
plumbers,  carters,  furniture  trades,  butchers,  carriers, 
bootmakers,  carpenters,  coalminers,  seamen,  builders, 
saddlers,  gold-miners,  linotypists,  drivers,  moulders, 
coach  builders,  tailors,  engineers,  tinsmiths,  grocers, 
tramway  employees,  pastry  cooks,  and  wharf  labourers. 

Yet  in  the  face  of  these  official  facts  we  have  people 


INDUSTRIAL  CONCILIATION  AND  ARBITRATION  371 


who  have  visited  the  colony  for  a few  weeks  grandilo- 
quently describing  New  Zealand  as  ‘‘  a land  of  in- 
dustrial peace  ! 

In  hearing  the  57  other  cases  which  the  Conciliation 
Boards  failed  to  settle,  and  which  had  therefore  to  be 
sent  on  to  the  Court  of  Arbitration,  these  Conciliation 
Boards  took  a total  of  289  days. 

It  will  be  at  once  conceded,  from  the  extensive  range 
of  industrial  disputes  dealt  with,  that  the  system  of 
appointing  members  of  Conciliation  Boards  for  definite 
periods  is  a bad  one,  because  they  cannot  possibly 
possess  the  requisite  expert  knowledge  to  enable  them 
to  deal  intelligently  with  all  the  disputes  coming  before 
them.  How,  for  example,  can  a compositor  or  a baker 
know  anything  of  the  technicalities  involved  in  a dis- 
pute between  shipmasters  and  a seamen's  union  ? In 
all  probability  they  could  not  tell  you  the  port  from 
the  starboard  side  of  a ship. 

The  opinion  has  always  been  held  by  the  author  that 
in  no  department  of  labour  should  any  man  be  called 
upon  to  work  more  than  eight  hours  a day.  In  fact,  to 
quote  the  doggerel  on  the  subject,  in  New  Zealand  the 
principle  has  always  been  recognised  of — 

Eight  hours’  work, 

Eight  hours’  play, 

Eight  hours’  rest,  and 
Eight  bob  a day.” 

Therefore  the  position  of  the  working  man — and  this 
term  embraces  the  whole  of  the  industrial  classes — has 
always  been  a good  one  in  New  Zealand,  and  capital 
has  never  imposed  upon  him  to  the  extent  it  has  done 
in  older  countries.  But  there  is  reason  in  all  things  ; 
and  when  one  hears  blatant  labour  leaders  talk  in 
Parliament  about  reducing  the  working  hours  to  six, 
and  when  he  knows  that  employers  are  harassed  and 


372 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


dictated  to  as  they  are  in  New  Zealand  as  to  the  manner 
in  which  they  shall  conduct  their  business  ; when  they 
are  constantly  being  cited  before  conciliation  boards 
when  their  men  are  thoroughly  well  satisfied  with  their 
treatment  of  them  ; then  it  is  right  that  he  should  speak 
out  and  tell  the  people  of  Great  Britain  that  all  they  are 
told  by  birds  of  passage  about  New  Zealand  being  “a 
land  of  industrial  peace  is  the  purest  moonshine. 
Industrial  peace  does  not  exist  there,  and  never  will  so 
long  as  the  blight  of  party  politics  dominates  and 
degrades  almost  every  institution  in  the  land. 

If  trades  unionism  is  true  to  its  own  interests,  it  will 
get  rid  of  the  army  of  self-seeking  men  who  have  been 
fattening  upon  it  ever  since  that  fatal  mistake  was  made 
of  attaching  itself  so  blindly  to  a party  of  political 
mediocrities  who  make  use  of  it  for  their  own  advantage. 
Until  that  is  done,  it  will  be  hopeless  to  expect  that 
amicable  relations  can  be  re-established  between  em- 
ployers and  employed,  or  that  labour  will  recognise  that 
it  has  its  obligations  and  responsibilities  as  well  as 
capital.  Surely  in  time  they  must  see  that  the  irritation 
which  prevails  amongst  themselves  and  those  who  em- 
ploy them  is  encouraged  for  the  sake  of  the  political 
capital  that  is  made  out  of  it. 

New  Zealand  is  a truly  wonderful  country.  Its 
natural  resources  are  so  great  that  it  has  defied  bad 
and  extravagant  government  to  ruin  it.  Its  prosperity 
is  due  to  no  Government  that  has  ever  been  in  office, 
but  solely  to  its  own  productiveness.  How  much 
better,  however,  might  be  its  position  if  it  were  governed 
upon  the  principles  of  a pure  democracy  ? Then 
millions  of  people  might  be  induced  to  emigrate  to  its 
shores,  and  capital  would  flow  in  for  investment ; but 
that  will  not  be  the  case  so  long  as  the  present  feeling 
of  insecurity  prevails  in  regard  to  its  legislation  and  the 
management  of  its  affairs, 


INDUSTRIAL  CONCILIATION  AND  ARBITRATION  373 

That  New  Zealand  has  always  been  an  over-governed 
Colony  cannot  be  denied.  What  is  the  position  to-day  ? 
Its  Governor  costs  it  ^10,000  a year  in  salary,  household 
allowances,  and  expenses — the  President  of  the  United 
States  is  modest  in  comparison  ; he  gets  a salary  of 
only  1 0,000  as  the  head  of  nearly  eighty  millions  of 
people.  New  Zealand,  with  its  800,000  inhabitants,  has 
seven  paid  Ministers  of  the  Crown — one  at  ^1,600  a year, 
another  at  ^1,300  and  five  more  at  1,000  each  ; all 
these  Ministers  get  a house  allowance  of  £200  each  and 
30s.  a day  while  away  from  Wellington,  which  is  often 
and  for  long  periods,  and  other  ministerial  allowances. 
Then  it  has  a House  of  Representatives  of  74  members 
at  £20  a month  each,  travelling  expenses,  and  free 
railway  passes,  8z:c. ; the  Speaker  and  Chairman  of 
Committees  get  far  more  than  that — ^800  and  ;^500 
respectively  for  sixteen  weeks  ! Between  40  and  50 
members  of  the  Legislative  Council  at  ;^’i50  a year 
each,  travelling  expenses  and  free  railway  passes,  and 
its  Speaker  at  a big  salary.  All  this  money  spent  on 
its  Governor,  ministers,  and  members  of  Parliament, 
and  the  population  numbering  less  than  800,000  souls — 
just  as  many  people  as  are  in  one  corner  of  London, 
and  that  not  the  most  populous ! 

And  now  as  to  the  public  debt  of  the  Colony,  what 
do  we  find?  That  on  March  31,  1900,  the  gross 
public  debt  amounted  to  ;^*47,874,452,  or  an  increase  of 
£g^6,\^6  for  the  year  ; but  deducting  accrued  sinking 
funds  to  the  amount  of  ;^944,376  the  net  public  debt  of 
the  Colony  on  March  31,  1900,  was  ^^^46,930,076.  The 
annual  charge  for  interest  on  the  debt  is  ;6’i,8i6,592 
and  sinking  fund  ^^47,146;  total  annual  charges  for 
interest  and  sinking  fund  ^1,863,738.  The  public  debt 
so  stated  does  not  include  Treasury  Bills  amounting  to 
£^00,000.  (Budget,  1900,  and  Returns  by  the  Secretary 
and  the  Accountant  of  the  Treasury,  laid  before  the 
House  of  Representatives  July  26,  1900.) 


374 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


It  would  astound  English  readers  if  the  various  de- 
partments of  Government  and  their  cost  were  enume- 
rated, not  to  say  anything  of  the  fourteen  hundred  local 
governing  bodies  which  exist  all  over  the  country  dis- 
charging various  functions.  The  cost  of  its  ministers 
and  Parliament  is  an  outrage.  Just  imagine  giving 
such  men  salaries  ranging  from  ^i,ooo  to  ;^i,6oo, 
besides  other  additions,  and  members  of  Parliament 
£20  a month  and  other  pickings.  The  thing  is  mon- 
strous, as  any  one  will  admit  who  knows  who  the  men 
are  that  draw  these  salaries. 

There  are  five  Supreme  Court  Judges  who  draw 
salaries  of  only  ^^’1,500  a year,  except  the  Chief  Justice, 
who  gets  ;£*i,750.  Now,  if  ministers  get  from  ^1,000 
to  ;^’i,6oo  each,  a puisne  judge  of  the  Supreme  Court 
is  worth  at  least  5,000  and  the  Chief  Justice  £6f^oo  or 
£jf)00^  but  professional  learning  and  ability  are  not 
paid  for  in  the  Colony  as  they  ought  to  be.  And  so  it 
IS  that  judges  get  such  inadequate  salaries,  while  ministers 
would  still  get  more  than  most  of  them  are  worth  or 
could  earn  at  any  other  occupation  if  they  were  paid 
^250  a year.  And  as  for  the  average  run  of  members  of 
Parliament,  £'i  a week  would  be  the  utmost  that  any 
one  of  them  could  earn  at  his  trade.  Yet  the  shoe- 
maker, the  carpenter,  the  coal-heaver,  the  printer,  and 
so  on,  gets  his  £20  a month  all  the  year  round,  a free 
railway  pass  always,  and  travelling  expenses  for  being 
in  Wellington  about  sixteen  weeks  in  the  year!  Could 
anything  be  more  absurd  ? 

The  author  believes  in  the  payment  of  members  of 
Parliament,  but  not  upon  a scale  which  brings  into 
existence  the  very  worst  type  of  public  man — the 
professional  politician.  New  Zealand  abounds  with 
them  now,  and  always  will,  so  long  as  public  money  is 
frittered  away  in  this  fashion  upon  men  who  are  in  no 
respect  qualified  for  parliamentary  life,  and  who  seize 


INDUSTRIAL  CONCILIATION  AND  ARBITRATION  375 


upon  the  first  chance  that  offers  to  vote  themselves  still 
more  money  out  of  the  public  funds,  as  witness  ‘‘  the 
£40  steal  from  the  Treasury’^  of  last  session  by  way  of 
‘‘  sessional  allowance.”  The  Colonial  press  has  scourged 
them  unmercifully  for  that.  Will  it  continue  its  con- 
demnation of  the  gross  abuses  that  are  going  on  in  New 
Zealand  until  the  Augean  stable  is  thoroughly  cleansed 
and  purified,  and  public  and  political  life  are  restored 
to  something  like  decency  and  honesty  of  purpose?  It 
lies  with  the  Press  and  people  to  do  this  cleansing. 
The  question  is.  Will  they  arouse  themselves  from  their 
lethargy  and  do  it  in  the  thorough  way  it  requires  to  be 
done,  or  will  they  meekly  submit  to  the  continuance  of 
a condition  of  things  which  has  brought  the  Colony  into 
disrepute  amongst  people  who  have  obtained  some  in- 
sight into  the  conduct  of  affairs  there?  We  shall  see. 


CHAPTER  XXXV 


THE  LOSS  OF  SAMOA— NATIVES  SATISFIED  WITH 
GERMAN  ANNEXATION 

There  was  never  an  instance  in  which  to  a 
greater  extent  circumstances  can  be  said  to  have 
altered  cases  so  much  as  with  regard  to  the  partition  of 
the  Samoan  Islands  between  Germany  and  America. 
For  many  years  the  Australian  Colonies  had  regarded 
with  some  alarm  the  current  of  events  which  led  to  the 
presence  of  Germany  in  New  Guinea,  situated  so  closely 
to  the  northern  shores  of  the  great  island  Continent.  It 
was  hoped  and  believed  that  foreign  encroachment 
would  end  there,  and  that  the  islands  in  the  Pacific 
other  than  those  which  had  already  been  acquired  by 
France  would  be  safeguarded  against  annexation  by 
any  other  European  power  except  Great  Britain.  The 
Colonies,  as  the  sequel  showed,  were  living  in  a fool’s 
paradise  upon  that  subject.  They  had  seen,  it  was  true, 
the  unsatisfactory  condition  of  affairs  at  Samoa  under 
triple  management,  and  they  had  been  witnesses  of  the 
sanguinary  outcome  of  the  international  jealousies  and 
rivalries  which  culminated  in  the  outbreak  of  war 
between  the  two  great  sections  of  the  native  people  in 
those  islands.  They  had  allowed  the  Samoan  question 
to  drift  too  long ; there  was  no  united  Colonial  opinion 
on  tlie  subject,  because  New  South  Wales  on  the  one 


THE  LOSS  OF  SAMOA 


377 


hand,  and  New  Zealand  on  the  other,  wanted  Samoa  for 
itself.  Each  was  as  determined  as  the  other  that  the 
prize  should  be  its  own,  because  of  the  commercial 
advantages  which  were  expected  to  result  from  annex- 
ation. They  resembled  two  dogs  fighting  for  a bone 
and  a third  one  coming  along  and  depriving  both  of 
them  of  it.  That  third  dog  was  Germany.  That  power 
knew  all  along  of  the  feelings  of  jealousy  and  dissension 
which  existed  between  New  South  Wales  and  New 
Zealand  with  reference  to  Samoa,  and  from  the  moment 
that  Germany  obtained  a foothold  there  she  exerted 
herself  in  every  possible  way  to  establish  her  supremacy. 

For  the  loss  of  Samoa  the  Colonies  have  themselves  to 
thank.  Nearly  three  years  before  the  dissolution  of  the 
triple  arrangement,  the  author,  in  the  columns  of  the 
Melbourne  Age^  warned  the  Governments  of  Australasia 
of  the  designs  of  Germany  upon  Samoa.  The  substance 
of  that  warning  was  immediately  cabled  back  to  New 
Zealand  and  was  published  in  the  newspaper  press  of 
that  Colony.  On  being  interviewed  by  a local  press 
representative,  the  New  Zealand  Premier  pooh-poohed 
the  idea,  and  declared  that  there  was  nothing  in  it. 
The  author  pointed  out  in  the  Age  that  there  could  not 
be  the  slightest  doubt,  from  information  in  his  possession, 
that  Germany  meant  to  acquire  Samoa.  That  intention 
was  only  postponed  through  the  outbreak  of  the  Spanish- 
American  War.  So  far  from  there  being  nothing  in  the 
warning,  there  was,  unfortunately,  too  much  in  it,  and 
the  surrender  of  Samoa  and  its  partition  between 
Germany  and  America  came  about  exactly  as  the  author 
described  in  the  Age  nearly  three  years  previously.  The 
author  feels  convinced  that  but  for  the  laissez-faire 
attitude  of  New  Zealand's  Premier  and  similar  inactivity 
on  the  part  of  the  Governments  of  Australia,  this  regret- 
table consummation  would  not  have  happened.  A 
combined  and  vigorous  protest  on  the  part  of  the 


378 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


Governments  of  Australasia  at  that  time  would  have 
upset  the  intentions  of  Germany,  because  England 
would  never  have  dared  to  disregard  the  wishes  of 
combined  Australasia  upon  a question  of  such  vital 
importance  to  those  Colonies.  As  it  is,  they  have  now 
an  undesirable  neighbour  like  Germany  at  their  very 
doors,  and  to  the  apathy  and  want  of  foresight  of  those 
in  authority  must  be  attributed  this  lamentable  issue  of 
events. 

In  an  article  contributed  by  the  author  to  the  New 
York  Tivies  of  December  24,  1899,  he  made  the  following 
observations  upon  the  Samoan  question  : — 

‘‘No  more  unwelcome  tidings  could  have  been  wafted 
to  Australasia  than  that  Great  Britain  had  come  to  an 
arrangement  with  Germany  to  hand  over  to  that  power 
the  control  and  management  of  the  lion's  share  of 
Samoa.  The  transfer  has  occurred  at  a time  when  there 
is  little  disposition  to  call  into  question  the  wisdom  of 
Great  Britain  in  surrendering  Samoa  without  taking  the 
Colonies  into  her  confidence  on  the  question.  The  out- 
break of  the  Transvaal  War  has  brought  with  it  a tidal 
wave  of  imperialism  all  over  the  Colonies  of  Australasia, 
and  the  feeling  is  so  intense  that  for  the  moment  the 
Colonies  generally  are  blind  to  the  danger  of  having  a 
great  European  power  like  Germany  brought  into  such 
close  proximity  to  their  shores.  Had  the  proposal  been 
put  before  them  in  a time  of  peace,  there  would  have 
been  a howl  of  indignation  from  all  the  British 
dependencies  in  these  seas,  and  a stubborn  diplomatic 
effort  to  prevent  Germany  from  obtaining  the  foothold 
she  has  gained  in  Samoa. 

“ Powerless  as  the  Colonies  now  are,  without  any  hope 
of  getting  the  thing  undone,  a strong  undercurrent  of 
feeling  {prevails  that  Great  Britain  has  not  treated  the 
Australasian  Colonies  as  she  ought  to  have  done,  and 
this  sense  of  injustice  will  become  intensified  with  the 


THE  LOSS  OF  SAMOA 


379 


restoration  of  peace  and  a more  thorough  realisation  of 
the  danger  to  which  Germany’s  presence  as  a close  and 
powerful  neighbour  exposes  us.  It  is  well  known  that 
Germany’s  interference  in  Samoan  affairs  has  always  been 
repugnant  to  the  wishes  of  the  majority  of  the  inhabitants 
of  that  country,  and  no  less  to  Australasians,  whose 
chief  desire  has  always  been  to  keep  foreign  European 
control  out  of  the  Southern  Pacific  as  much  as  possible. 
To  this  end,  resistance  has  always  been  offered  against 
the  acquisition  of  the  New  Hebrides  by  France,  and,  in 
spite  of  this,  Samoa  has  been  quietly  surrendered  to 
Germany,  as  an  expedient  of  British  policy  to  cultivate 
the  friendship  of  that  nation  in  a fleeting  emergency. 

The  only  atom  of  consolation  we  can  discover  in  the 
arrangement  is,  that  Tutuila  is  to  be  American,  and  that 
an  alliance  between  the  two  great  English-speaking 
nations  of  the  world  can  at  any  time  minimise  the 
dangers  arising  from  such  an  undesirable  Germanic 
proximity  to  our  coasts.  One  immediate  effect  of  the 
handing  over  of  Samoa  to  Germany  will  be  this  : it  will 
impress  the  Colonies  with  the  necessity  of  inaugurating 
and  gradually  perfecting  a combined  system  of  defence 
on  land  and  sea,  as  well  for  internal  safety  as  for  the 
protection  of  their  commerce  with  the  outside  world, 
and  the  insuring  of  a greater  influence  in  the  councils  of 
the  Mother  Land.” 

The  author  has  visited  Samoa  since  German  rule  has 
been  established  there,  and  he  must  express  surprise  at 
the  splendid  relations  which  exist  between  the  German 
authorities  and  the  natives  of  that  country.  He  was 
anxious  to  ascertain  what  the  feeling  between  them 
really  is,  and  found  from  his  inquiries  both  from  pro- 
minent natives  and  residents  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  race 
that  the  natives  feel  thankful  that  Germany  is  in  posses- 
sion. This  state  of  feeling  has  been  brought  about  by 
the  wise  policy  which  has  been  pursued  by  Germany 


38o 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


towards  the  native  race.  The  authorities  have  given  to 
the  natives  a system  of  home  rule  under  which  they  are 
to  have  the  management  of  their  lands,  and  this  is  ex- 
actly what  the  natives  wanted.  They  feel  confident  that 
Germany  has  no  intention  of  taking  the  land  from  them, 
and  this  accounts  for  their  cheerful  acceptance  of  Ger- 
man rule.  They  are  quite  content  with  the  new  order 
of  things,  and  if  Germany  continues  to  act  towards  then 
as  she  has  commenced  there  will  be  no  fear  of  native 
outbreaks  in  Samoa. 

The  author  ascertained  that  the  natives  always 
dreaded  the  possibility  of  being  placed  under  the  con- 
trol of  New  Zealand.  They  know  all  about  the  treatment 
of  the  natives  in  that  Colony,  and  the  way  in  which  they 
have  been  deprived  of  their  lands,  and  they  feared  that 
if  New  Zealand  obtained  control  over  Samoa  their  pos- 
sessions would  no  longer  be  assured  to  them.  They 
are  thankful,  therefore,  that  connection  with  New  Zea- 
land is  no  longer  possible,  and  to  hear  them  refer  to 
the  subject  one  would  suppose  that  their  escape  from 
annexation  by  that  Colony  was  esteemed  by  them  as 
one  of  the  greatest  blessings  that  could  have  been 
bestowed  upon  them.  The  Fijians  are  evidently  of  the 
same  opinion  with  reference  to  themselves. 

Probably  this  feeling  on  the  part  of  the  Samoans 
against  New  Zealand  has  been  embittered  by  the 
knowledge  that  whilst  New  Zealand  was  anxious  to 
annex  Samoa,  it  was  not  out  of  any  consideration  for 
its  native  inhabitants,  but  because  of  the  material 
advantages  which  would  result  from  trade  and  the 
acquisition  of  territory.  New  Zealand  showed  her  hand 
too  plainly  when  its  authorities  cabled  to  Mr.  Chamber- 
lain  that  they  were  prepared  to  send  down  a strong 
force  of  men  to  assist  in  quelling  the  disturbances  which 
arose  there  by  force  of  arms.  The  Samoans  saw  clearly 
tlirougli  the  whole  business,  and  were  determined  that, 


THE  LOSS  OF  SAMOA 


381 


SO  long  as  they  could  prevent  it,  they  would  never 
consent  to  be  governed  from  New  Zealand.  The  feeling 
amongst  the  Samoans  is  very  decided  upon  that  point. 
They  are  a magnificent  race  of  people,  proud,  intelligent, 
and  intellectual,  and  it  is  satisfactory  to  find  that  they 
are  so  happy  and  contented  with  the  system  of  govern- 
ment which  Germany  has  conferred  upon  them.  It  is 
but  just  to  Germany  that  this  fact  should  be  made 
known  to  the  outside  world,  and  the  author  has  all  the 
more  pleasure  in  recording  it  because  of  his  previously 
expressed  objection  to  the  presence  of  a foreign  power  so 
close  to  Australasia. 

But  because  the  Germans  are  managing  affairs  so 
much  to  their  credit  and  to  the  satisfaction  of  the 
native  inhabitants  in  Samoa,  that  does  not  alter  the 
fact  that  such  a power  located  there  may  in  the  future 
become  a serious  menace  to  Australasia.  It  might  have 
added  somewhat  to  their  security  if  Samoa  had  been 
made  a Crown  Colony  of  Great  Britain,  but  it  would 
certainly  have  been  worse  for  the  Samoans  themselves 
if  they  had  been  annexed  to  any  of  the  self-governing 
Colonies,  especially  New  Zealand.  It  was  one  of  the 
late  Sir  George  Grey’s  ideals  that  Samoa,  Fiji  and 
other  islands  in  these  latitudes  should  be  grouped 
together  under  one  great  confederation  ; but  it  was  never 
a portion  of  his  scheme  that  any  of  the  self-governing 
Colonies  should  exercise  control  over  them. 

The  author  is  glad  to  find  that  the  following  letter 
has  been  sent  to  the  Right  Hon.  Joseph  Chamberlain, 
Secretary  of  State  for  the  Colonies,  by  the  Aborigines 
Protection  Society  : — 

Aborigines  Protection  Society, 

Broadway  Chambers,  Westminster,  S.W. 

April  3,  1901. 

Sir, — I have  the  honour,  by  direction  of  the  Com- 
mittee of  the  Aborigines  Protection  Society,  to  address 


382 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


you  with  reference  to  suggestions  that  have  been 
publicly  made  in  favour  of  transference  of  the  Fiji 
Islands  from  the  direct  rule  ol  the  Crown  to  the  control 
of  the  New  Zealand  Government. 

2.  As  this  Society  took  an  active  part  in  urging  that 
Her  late  Majesty's  Government  should  accord  to  the 
Fijians  the  protection  which  led  to  their  islands  being 
taken  over  as  a Crown  Colony  in  1875,  it  is  especially 
incumbent  on  our  Committee  that  it  should  now  appeal 
against  any  measures  being  adopted  that  will  violate 
the  conditions  under  which  the  inhabitants  invited  and 
accepted  British  Sovereignty,  and  that  will  expose  them 
to  the  risk  of  their  interests  being  thereby  prejudiced. 
I am  to  submit  to  you  that  those  conditions  will  be 
violated,  and  that,  to  say  the  least,  grave  risk  will  be 
incurred  if  the  proposed  transfer  is  made,  and  that  the 
dangers  incident  to  it  will  not  be  limited  to  this  portion 
of  His  Majesty's  dominions  in  the  Western  Pacific. 

3.  Although  exception  has  been  taken  to  some  details 
in  the  carrying  out  of  the  policy  initiated  under  the 
governorship  of  Lord  Stanmore — and  continued  by  his 
able  successors.  Sir  G.  W.  Des  Voeux,  Sir  J.  B.  Thurstin, 
and  Sir  G.  T.  M.  O’Brien — that  policy  has  been  both 
acceptable  and  beneficial  to  the  natives.  While  equit- 
able and  generous  towards  them,  moreover,  particularly 
in  its  recognition  of  their  rights  to  ownership  of  land 
and  maintenance  of  local  institutions,  it  has  also  secured 
such  reasonable  and  substantial  development  of  the 
resources  of  the  colony,  and  of  their  legitimate  com- 
mercial value  to  European  and  other  traders,  as  affords 
satisfactory  assurance  as  to  its  future  progress  under 
existing  arrangements.  Appeal  is  now  made  to  His 
Majesty's  Government  that  it  will  do  nothing  which 
may  weaken  the  present  safeguards  against  injustice  to 
the  natives,  even  with  the  expectation  of  rendering  Fiji 
more  profitable  to  New  Zealand  and  its  colonists. 


THE  LOSS  OF  SAMOA 


383 


4.  Our  Committee  has  viewed  with  considerable  alarm 
the  encroachments  of  recent  years  on  the  rights  of 
natives  in  New  Zealand,  which  have  been  supplementary 
to  much  larger  encroachments  prior  to  the  pacification 
of  1871.  But  these  events  occurring  in  a self-governing 
colony,  it  was  considered  that  there  would  be  no  advan- 
tage in  representations  on  the  subject  being  made  to 
His  Majesty’s  Government.  I am  to  submit,  however, 
that  they  afford  strong  grounds  for  not  entrusting  to  the 
New  Zealand  Government  the  protection  of  natives  in 
Fiji,  which  now  devolves  on  the  Crown. 

5.  I am  further  to  submit  that  the  surrender  of  direct 
Imperial  control  in  Fiji  could  scarcely  fail  to  imperil 
and  complicate  arrangements  for  protection  of  natives 
in  other  islands  of  the  Western  Pacific  which,  in  the 
opinion  of  our  Committee,  ought  to  be  strengthened 
rather  than  weakened.  So  long  as  the  Governor  of  Fiji 
is  also  High  Commissioner  for  the  Western  Pacific 
Islands,  his  duties  in  the  latter  capacity,  and  those  of  his 
subordinates,  may  be  carried  on  far  more  conveniently 
and  economically  than  would  be  practicable  if  a separate 
establishment  were  provided  for  them.  Our  Committee 
cannot  suppose  that,  if  Fiji  were  handed  over  to  New 
Zealand,  His  Majesty’s  Government  would  also  hand 
over  to  it  superintendence  of  the  numerous  and  widely 
parted  groups  of  islands  whose  inhabitants  have  been 
brought  under  the  guardianship  of  the  British  Crown  by 
the  Pacific  Islanders  Protection  Act  of  1872  and  sub- 
sequent legislation.  But  the  difficulties  under  which 
the  High  Commissioner  now  labours  would  be  greatly 
increased  if  he  were  deprived  of  Fiji  as  a base  of 
operations  and  of  the  assistance  he  derives  from  its 
administrative  machinery. 

6.  As  regards  the  Western  Pacific  Protectorate,  our 
Committee  invites  your  attention  to  the  growing  import- 
ance of  the  duties  of  the  High  Commissioner  being 


3^4 


AUSTRALASIA  OLD  AND  NEW 


efficiently  performed  under  the  immediate  direction 
of,  and  responsibility  to,  His  Majesty's  Government. 
Recent  extensions  of  territorial  hold,  political  influence 
and  commercial  activity  in  this  part  of  the  world  by 
France,  Germany,  and  the  United  States,  appear  to 
render  it  necessary  that  preservation  of  the  legitimate 
interests  of  Great  Britain  should  not  be  abrogated  by  its 
central  administrators  ; and,  apart  from  the  danger  of 
international  complications  arising  from  the  delegation 
of  Imperial  duties  to  a subsidiary  part  of  the  Empire, 
there  is  more  imminent  danger  of  injury  to  natives  of 
the  Pacific  Islands  resulting  from  such  a course. 

7.  The  demand  for  Kanaka  labour,  more  or  less  forced 
and  stolen,  in  foreign  possessions  as  well  as  in  Queens- 
land, continues,  and  the  evils  incident  to  it  can  only  be 
aggravated  by  the  increasing  difficulty  of  obtaining  it  in 
sufficient  quantity  and  at  a cost  low  enough  to  make 
it  remunerative.  Our  Committee,  therefore,  earnestly 
appeals  to  His  Majesty's  Government  to  render  more 
effective  than  heretofore,  instead  of  in  any  way  impair- 
ing, the  provisions  of  the  Pacific  Islanders  Protection 
Acts,  and,  as  a part  of  its  general  policy  in  this  respect, 
to  adhere  to  the  promises  made  to  the  Fijians  when 
their  offer  to  become  British  subjects  was  complied 
with. 

I have  the  honour  to  be.  Sir, 

Your  most  obedient  Servant, 

H.  R.  Fox  Bourne, 

Secretary. 

The  Right  Hon.  Joseph  Chamberlain, 

Colonial  Office. 

No  reply  to  the  foregoing  communication  has  yet 
been  received  from  the  Colonial  Office  ; but  the  author 
has  the  best  authority  for  stating  that  no  annexation  of 
P'iji  by  New  Zealand  will  be  permitted  by  the  Imperial 


THE  LOSS  OF  SAMOA 


385 


Government,  _and  that  if  any  change  in  the  Government 
of  Fiji  should  hereafter  be  decided  on  that  change  will 
be  the  result  of  negotiations  between  the  British  Govern- 
ment and  the  Australasian  Commonwealth.  [Since  the 
foregoing  was  in  type  a reply  has  been  received  from 
the  Colonial  Office,  stating  that  the  New  Zealand 
Government  has  been  informed  that  the  Imperial 
Government  does  not  intend  to  sanction  any  change 
in  the  administration  of  Fiji.] 

As  in  the  case  of  the  Samoans,  so  also  in  that  of  the 
Fijians — they  dread  the  idea  of  annexation  to  New 
Zealand.  They,  too,  fear  that  annexation  would  mean 
the  loss  of  their  lands.  It  is  quite  reasonable  and 
natural  that  their  thoughts  and  fears  should  run  in  that 
direction  ; and,  viewed  from  the  native  standpoint,  it  is 
inimical  to  their  best  interests  that  they  should  be 
brought  under  the  control  of  the  New  Zealand  Govern- 
ment. They  will  have  reason  to  congratulate  them- 
selves, therefore,  if  they  escape  that  misfortune,  and 
Sir  Thomas  O’Brien  is  to  be  commended,  rather  than 
condemned,  for  the  efforts  he  is  making  on  their  behalf 
to  avert  it. 


26 


APPENDICES 


a 


APPENDICES 


STATISTICAL  INFORMATION. 

POPULATION  OF  AUSTRALASIA. 


Colony. 

i860. 

1870. 

1880. 

1890. 

1899. 

Persons. 

Persons. 

Persons, 

Persons. 

Persons. 

New  South  Wales 

348,546 

498,659 

747,950 

1,121,860 

1,356,650 

Victoria 

537,847 

726,599 

860,067 

1,133,266 

1,163,400 

Queensland  

28,056 

115,567 

226,077 

392,965 

482,400 

South  Australia 

124,112 

183,797 

267,573 

319.414 

370,700 

Western  Australia 

15,227 

25,084 

29,019 

46,290 

171,030 

Tasmania 

87,775 

100,765 

114,762 

145,290 

182,300 

New  Zealand  

79,711 

248,400 

484,864 

625,508 

756,505 

Australasia  

1,221,274 

1,898,871 

2,730,312 

3,784,593 

4,482,980 

These  figures  are  exclusive  of  Australian  aborigines  and  New 
Zealand  Maoris.  It  is  impossible  to  arrive  at  an  estimate  of  the 
former.  The  Maoris,  at  the  census  in  1896,  numbered  39,854 — 
21,673  males  and  18,181  females. 

In  the  estimated  population  (exclusive  of  Maoris)  on  December 
31,  1899,  the  males  in  New  Zealand  are  put  down  at  398,679,  and 
the  females  at  357,826. 

PUBLIC  DEBT  OF  AUSTRALASIA. 

{From  Official  Sources.) 


Public  Debt. 

Colony. 

Date. 

Fixed  Debt. 

Floating 

Debt. 

Total. 

Queensland 

New  South  Wales 

Victoria  

South  Australia  

Western  Australia 

Tasmania  

New  Zealand  

Dec.  31,  1898 
June  30, 1899 
June  30, 1899 
Dec.  31,  1898 
June  30, 1899 
Dec.  31,  1898 
Mar.  31, 1899 

£ 

33,598,414 

61,580,082 

49,264,277 

24,672,810 

8,938,363 

7,721,420 

46,938,006 

£ 

2,181,584 

1.115.000 
243,500 

1.550.000 
691,484 

£ 

33,598,414 

63,761,666 

50,379,277 

24,916,310 

10,488,363 

8,412,904 

46,938,006 

389 


390 


APPENDICES 


The  Secretary  and  the  Accountant  of  the  New  Zealand  Treasury 
have  since  furnished  a return  to  Parliament  showing  that  on 
March  31,  1900,  the  gross  public  debt  was  £^7,^74,^S^,  and  that 
the  annual  charge  for  interest  amounted  to  ;£i,8i6,592  ; sinking 
fund,  £/^7,i^6.  The  sinking  funds  accrued  amounted  to 
£944)37^-  Net  public  debt,  ^£46, 930,076. 

New  Zealand  has  just  issued  a half-million  loan  locally  at  par 
and  4 per  cent,  for  three  years. 

A table  attached  to  the  New  South  Wales  Budget  for  1900 
shows  that  on  June  30th  of  last  year  the  public  debt  of  New  South 
Wales  amounted  to  £6^,232,gg2  3s.  8d.,  bearing  an  annual  charge 
for  interest  of  £2,36g,3gi  13s.  sd. 

Appendix  No.  17  to  the  Victorian  Budget  for  1900  shows  that 
on  June  30th  of  that  year  the  public  debt  of  Victoria  amounted 
to  ;£49,324,884  los.  2d.,  bearing  an  annual  interest  charge  of 
ii, 887, 354  9s.  9d. 

The  Financial  Statement  of  the  Tasmanian  Treasurer  for  1900 
shows  that  at  the  end  of  1899  the  funded  public  debt  totalled 
;£8,253,9i2.  This  included  £2gS,23S,  the  amount  of  loans  to  local 
bodies,  but  excluded  141,726  of  local  inscribed  stock  and  Treasury 
Bills  issued  to  provide  for  the  temporary  deficiency  and  needs  of 
the  Treasury. 

In  his  1900  Budget  the  Queensland  Colonial  Treasurer  states 
that  on  December  31,  1899,  the  public  debt  of  that  Colony  was 
£37,000,000. 

Appendix  12  to  the  last  Financial  Statement  of  the  Colonial 
Treasurer  of  South  Australia  shows  that  on  June  30,  1900,  the 
public  debt  of  that  Colony  was  ;£26,i56,i8o,  and  the  annual 
interest  thereon  £Sgg,373. 

On  June  30,  1900,  Western  Australia’s  gross  public  debt  stood 
at  1 1,674,640,  or  £63  8s.  per  head  of  population. 


TAXATION  IN  AUSTRALASIAN  COLONIES. 

{From  Advance  Sheets  of  New  Zealand  Official  Year  Book  for  1900.) 

The  following  were  the  rates  of  General  Government  taxation 
per  head  of  population  in  the  Australasian  Colonies  for  1898-9, 


APPENDICES 


391 

specifying  the  proportions  derived  from  Customs  and  other 
taxes  : — 


Colonies. 

Rate  of  Taxation  per  Head  of 
Mean  Population. 

Proportion 

of 

Taxation 

from 

Ratio  of 
Taxation  by 
Customs 
to 

Value 

of  Imports. 

Customs 
and  Excise. 

Other 

Taxes. 

Total. 

Customs 
and  Excise 
Duties. 

^ s.  d. 

£ s.  d. 

^ s.  d. 

Per  Cent. 

Per  Cent. 

Queensland  

303 

0 10  0 

3 10  3 

8579 

21-44 

New  South  Wales  ... 

I 4 I 

0 13  II 

I 18  0 

63-38 

5-11 

Victoria  

I 18  0 

0 13  II 

2 II  II 

73-19 

11-38 

South  Australia 

I 14  2 

0 17  I 

2 II  3 

6673 

9-24 

Western  Australia  ... 

532 

079 

5 10  II 

92  98 

17-10 

Tasmania  

290 

0 12  II 

3 I II 

7911 

24-58 

New  Zealand  (exclu- 
ding Maoris) 

2 15  3 

0 18  0 

3 13  3* 

75-40 

23.83 

TRADE  OF  THE  AUSTRALASIAN  COLONIES. 

The  follovdng  table  gives  the  value  of  the  imports  and  exports 
of  the  Australasian  Colonies  for  the  year  1898.  The  figures 
include  the  value  of  goods  produced  in  one  Colony  and  taken 
into  another  ; in  other  words,  they  include  the  intercolonial  as 
well  as  the  foreign  trade  : — 


Colony. 

Total  Value  of 

Excess  of 
Exports 
over 
Imports. 

Excess  of 
Imports 
over 
Exports. 

Imports. 

Exports. 

Queensland 

6,0^,266 

£ 

10,856,127 

4,848,861 

£ 

New  South  Wales 

24,453,560 

27,648,117 

3,194,557 

Victoria  

16,768,904 

15,872,246 

896,'658 

South  Australia  

6,184,805 

6,795774 

610,969 

Ditto,  Northern  Territory 

113,960 

182,596 

68,636 

Western  Australia 

5,241,965 

4,960,006 

281,959 

Tasmania  

1,650,018 

1,803,369 

153,351 

New  Zealand  

8,230,600 

10,517,955 

2,287,355 

* Or,  including  the  Maoris,  ;^3  los.  5d. 


392 


APPENDICES 


IMPORTS  AND  EXPORTS  OF  AUSTRALASIAN 
COLONIES  FOR  THE  YEAR  1899. 


{From  ihe  respective  Budgets  of  1900.) 


Colony. 

Imports. 

Exports. 

£ 

Queensland  

6,764,097 

11,942,858 

New  South  Wales  

25.594,000 

28,445,000 

Victoria 

18,370,873 

18,827,506 

South  Australia  

6,472,305* 

7.197.375* 

Western  Australia  

4.473,532 

6,985,642 

Tasmania  

1,769,324 

2,577.475 

New  Zealand 

8.739,633 

11.938.335 

EXTERNAL  TRADE  OF  AUSTRALASIA. 

The  following  table  represents  the  total  external  trade  of 
Australasia  from  1885  to  1898,  the  intercolonial  trade  being 
excluded  : — 


Year. 

Total  Trade. 

Imports. 

Exports. 

Excess  of 
Imports. 

Excess  of 
Exports. 

1885  

£ 

72,220,444 

£ 

41,136,038 

£ 

31,084,406 

10,051,632 

£ 

1890  

75,143,818 

38,451,160 

36,692,658 

1,758,502 

1891  

84,565,778 

41,325,033 

43,240,745 

1,915,712 

1892  

75.325.933 

34,529.501 

40,796,432 

6,266,931 

1893  

67,788,738 

27,925,990 

39,862,748 

11,936,758 

1894 

65,192,202 

26,063.630 

39,128,572 

13,064,942 

1895  

67,624,317 

27,425,725 

40,198,592 

12,772,867 

1896  

74,511,262 

34,420,596 

40,090,666 

5,670,070 

1897  

83,569.568 

37,862,741 

45,706,827 

7,844,086 

1898  

85,600,442 

37.310,583 

48,289,859 

10,979,276 

MINERAL  PRODUCTION  (VALUE)  OF  AUSTRALASIA 
TO  END  OF  1898. 

The  total  value  of  mineral  production  in  the  Australasian 
Colonies  to  the  end  of  the  year  1898  is  shown  in  the  following 

* For  the  year  endin^j  June  30,  1900,  South  Australia’s  imports  were  £7.401)831,  and 
exports,  £8,892,025. 


APPENDICES 


393 


table.  The  figures,  except  those  for  New  Zealand,  are  taken 
from  Mr.  Coghlan’s  Statistics  of  the  Seven  Colonies  of  Austra- 
lasia, i86i  to  1898  ” : — 


Colony. 

Gold. 

Silver 
and  Silver- 
lead. 

Copper. 

Tin. 

Coal. 

other 

Minerals. 

Total. 

New  S’th  Wales 
Victoria 

Queensland  ... 
South  Australia 
W’st’n  Australia 
Tasmania 

New  Zealand  ... 

£ ^ 
45,794.198 

250.738,820 

44,499.955 

2,133,746 

10,659,716 

3,954,647 

54,453,325 

25,812,340 

845,689 

697,418 

105,643 

250 

1,547,790 

235,831 

4,624,029 

206,395 

2,022,927 

21,529,746 

172,115 

874,516 

17,938 

£ 

6,292,056 

695,100 

4,448,800 

26,142 

76,227 

6,612,442 

£ 

34,321,205 

680,046 

2,282,692 

1,625 

368,295 

6,705,802 

£ 

3,010,101 

218,244 

239.496 

430,281 

369,944 

10,777 

9,332,384* 

£ 

119,853,929 

253,384,294 

54,191,288 

24,225,558 

11,279,877 

13,368,467 

70,745,280 

Australasia  ... 

412,234,407 

29,244,961 

22,447,666 

18,150,767 

44,359,665 

13,611,227 

547,048,693 

EXPENDITURE  ON  AUSTRALASIAN  RAILWAYS. 

{From  Advance  Sheets  of  New  Zealand  Official  Year  Book  for  1900.) 

The  following  table  shows  the  cost  of  railway  works,  the 
mileage,  the  average  cost  per  mile,  the  population,  and  the  cost 
per  head  of  the  population  in  the  several  Colonies  referred  to  : — 


Colony. 

Year  ended 

Cost  of  Con- 
struction 
of  Open 
Lines. 

No.  of 
Miles 
of  Line 
open. 

Average 
Cost  per 
Mile. 

Estimated 

Popula- 

tion. 

Cost  per 
Head  of 
Popula- 
tion. 

Queensland 

Dec.  30,  1898 

£ 

18,455,317 

2,742 

£ 

6,731 

498,500 

£ s.  d. 
37  0 5 

N e w South  Wales  ... 

June  30.  1899 

37,992,276 

2,707 

14,035 

1,351,500 

28  2 3 

Victoria  

June  30,  1898 

38,593,205 

3,113 

12,397 

1,169,400 

33  0 I 

South  Australia  f ... 

June  30,  1898 

13,919,258 

1,870 

7,443 

369,300 

37  13  10 

Western  Australia  ... 

June  30,  1899 

6,427.370 

1,355 

4,743 

169,600 

37  17  II 

Tasmania  

Dec.  31,  1898 

3,585,040 

438 

8,185 

177,300 

20  4 5 

New  Zealand 

Mar.  31,  1899 

16,404,676 

2,090 

7,849 

746,700 

21  19  5 

* Including  kauri-gum  valued  at  ;£9,099,6i9. 
I Including  Northern  Territory. 


394 


APPENDICES 


LIVE-STOCK  IN  AUSTRALASIAN  COLONIES. 

{From  Advance  Sheets  of  New  Zealand  Official  Year  Book  for  1900.) 


The  following  gives  the  number  of  the  principal  kinds  of  live 
stock  in  the  several  Australasian  Colonies  in  the  years  1898-99  : — 


Colonies. 

Sheep, 

Cattle. 

Horses. 

Pigs. 

Queensland  

17,552,608 

5,571.292 

480,469 

127,081 

New  South  Wales 

41,241,004 

2,029,516 

491,553 

247,061 

Victoria 

13,180,943 

1,833,900 

431,547 

337,588 

South  Australia 

5,012,620 

260,343 

161,774 

60,132 

South  Australia  (Northern  Territory) 

64,076 

353,551 

15,406 

1,710 

Western  Australia  

2,244,888 

245,907 

62,442 

39,284 

Tasmania' 

1493,638 

148,558 

29,797 

45,274 

April,  1898. 

Nov!,  1898. 

Nov.,  1898. 

Nov.,  1898. 

New  Zealand  

19.673,725 

1,203,024 

258,115 

193,512 

REVENUE  AND  EXPENDITURE  OF  AUSTRALASIAN 
COLONIES  DURING  FINANCIAL  YEAR  1899-1900. 

(From  the  respective  Budgets,) 


Colony. 

Revenue. 

Expenditure. 

New  South  Wales 

£ 

10,223,391 

£ 

10,341,293 

Victoria  

7,450,676 

7,318,945 

Queensland 

4,588,207 

4,540,418 

South  Australia  

2,780,858 

Western  Australia 

2,875,396 

2,615,675 

Tasmania  

1,040,107 

926,364 

Totals  for  Commonwealth 

28,958,635 

28,522,012 

New  Zealand  

5,580,386 

5,140,128 

Totals  Australasia 

;^34,539,02I 

;^33,662,i40 

ESTIMATED  REVENUE  AND  EXPENDITURE  OF 
AUSTRALASIAN  COLONIES  DURING  CURRENT 
FINANCIAL  YEAR  1900-1901. 

(From  the  respective  Budgets.) 


Colony. 

Estimated  Revenue. 

Estimated  Expenditure. 

New  South  Wales 

p 

pfeh 

00 

£ 

10,436,170 

Victoria  

7,482,350 

7,481,263 

Queensland 

4,594,370 

4,571,738 

South  Australia  

2,869,377 

2,862,317 

Western  Australia 

721,758“ 

480,1521 

Tasmania  

1,046,650 

973,239 

New  Zealand  

5,463,000 

5,441,523 

* First  three  months  only. 

I First  two  months  only.  Kest  of  estimates  not  yet  available. 


APPENDICES 


395 


WOMANHOOD  SUFFRAGE  IN  NEW  ZEALAND. 

From  advance  sheets  of  the  New  Zealand  Official  Year  Book 
for  1900,  received  by  last  mail,  the  author  finds  that  the  number 
of  women  who  voted  in  1899  (119,550)  is  7570  per  cent,  of  the 
females  on  the  rolls  (163,215) ; while  in  1896  there  were  108,783 
who  voted  out  of  142,305,  giving  the  higher  proportion  of  76*44 
per  cent. ; so  that  (assuming  the  figures  to  be  correct)  there  is  no 
evidence  of  a greater  willingness  now  on  the  part  of  the  females 
to  go  to  the  poll — quite  the  contrary.  The  following  table  shows 
the  results  at  the  three  general  elections  since  the  female 
franchise  came  into  operation  : — 


Date  of 
General 
Election. 

Estimated 
Total  Adult 
Females. 

Number  on 
Rolls. 

Proportion 
of  Adult 
Females 
registered  as 
Electors. 

Number  who 
Voted. 

Proportion 
of  Females 
on  Rolls 
who  Voted. 

1893 

139471 

109,461 

78-48 

90,290 

85-18* 

1896 

159.656 

142,305 

89-13 

108,783 

76-44 

1899 

171,378 

163,215 

9524 

119,550 

75-70* 

* Excluding  figures  for  three  electorates  in  which  there  was  no  contest. 


Out  of  163,215  women  on  the  rolls  119,500  recorded  their  votes 
at  the  general  election  of  1899,  leaving  43,665  who  did  not  vote. 
The  total  adult  females  in  the  colony  was  estimated  at  171,378,  so 
that  8,163  1^^^  i^ot  registered.  The  total  number  of  females  on 
the  rolls  of  the  three  electorates  in  which  there  was  no  contest 
was  5,386,  made  up  as  follows  : — Hawke’s  Bay,  1,878  ; Westland, 
1,598  ; Waihemo,  1,810.  These  5,386,  added  to  43,665  makes  a 
gross  total  of  49,051  women  on  the  rolls  who  did  not  vote  at  the 
general  election  in  December,  1899. 


THE  TOTALISATOR. 

This  is  the  machine  which  legalises  betting  on  horse-racing  in 
New  Zealand,  Queensland,  and  South  Australia. 

In  New  Zealand,  as  the  subjoined  table  shows,  the  Government 
derives  a considerable  amount  of  revenue  from  the  use  of  the 
machine  on  the  racecourses  in  that  Colony.  The  table  is  taken 
from  the  advance  sheets  of  the  New  Zealand  Official  Year  Book 
for  1900. 


396 


APPENDICES 


Year. 

No.  of  Totalisa- 
tor Licenses 
Issued. 

Days. 

Percentage  paid  to 
Treasury. 

Total  Amount 
Invested  by  the 
Public. 

1889-90 

187 

241 

£ 

£ 

1890-91 

219 

278 

1891-92 

234 

300 

7,591 

506,078 

1892-93 

240 

307 

10,800 

720,029 

1893-94 

247 

318 

10,375 

621,673 

1894-95 

207 

268 

10,446 

696,456 

1895-96 

170 

256 

11,156 

743,763 

1896-97 

158 

250 

11,911 

794,096 

1897-98 

155 

268 

13,297 

886,567 

1898-99 

144 

250 

13,695 

912,969 

1899-1900 

154 

178 

15,983 

1,065,583 

N.B. — The  years  used  for  purposes  of  the  table  are  financial  years,  not  the  racing 
years.  This  accounts  for  the  number  of  licenses  issued  in  some  of  the  periods  being 
over  the  legal  limit  for  one  year. 

The  Colonial  Secretary  issues  to  Jockey  Clubs  permits  to  use 
the  totalisator.  The  Clubs  charge  investors  lo  per  cent,  on  their 
investments.  These  two  shillings  in  the  pound  are  deducted 
from  the  total  sum  invested  in  the  totalisator ; 2^  per  cent,  of 
this  goes  to  the  Government,  and  is  included  in  the  general 
revenues  of  the  Colony. 


UNWIN  UROTUKRS,  THE  GKESlIAM  TRESS,  WOKING  AND  LONDON. 


